Union sues Becker school district over "gag order" communications policy
MINNEAPOLIS -- Union educators in central Minnesota are suing a school district over a new communications plan they say bars staff from saying anything that isn't positive about the district to someone who isn't employed by it.
In a news release Thursday, Education Minnesota said that its affiliate in the Becker Public Schools filed a lawsuit in Sherburne County District Court, asking that the new communications plan approved by the school board on May 2 not be enforced.
The lawsuit claims that the new communications plan violates free speech provisions in the state constitution and other laws.
The new plan is so broad, the lawsuit argues, that it would stop school staff from reporting the maltreatment of students to outside agencies. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges, the plan would prohibit educators from discussing personnel issues at school board meetings if everyone present wasn't employed by the district.
"Educators should be able to speak the truth about what's happening in their schools to parents and the rest of their communities," said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota, in a statement. "This gag order, and policies like it, are unacceptable. Our union will resist them everywhere."
A spokesperson for the district says that they disagree with the claims made in the union's lawsuit, saying that the allegations misconstrue the "purpose and effect of language" in the district's communication plan.
Additionally, the district said it would respond to the lawsuit through legal proceedings.
Becker is located roughly 50 miles northwest of Minneapolis.