Current judicial decisions hold that public school students have a constitutional right to distribute written materials in school facilities, subject to reasonable regulation by school authorities of the time, place, and manner of distribution and subject to certain restrictions concerning the content of the material.

The purpose of this policy is to provide for the exercise of this right by Jenks District students and at the same time to inform Jenks District students of the conditions which the Jenks District Board of Education deems essential to prevent interference with the mission of the District to provide educational services for all Jenks District students.

Certain definitions as used in this policy are as follows:

• Distribution means the circulation of written material by handing out copies, selling, or offering copies for sale and accepting donations for copies.

• Written material includes, but is not limited to, leaflets, magazines, books, brochures, fliers, petitions, newspapers, buttons, badges or other insignia. Minors mean persons under the age of eighteen (18).

Jenks Public Schools’ students may distribute written materials at any entrance or exit to a school building for a period not to exceed thirty (30) minutes prior to the commencement of the earliest class in that building and not to exceed thirty (30) minutes after the end of the last instructional class in that building. Students may distribute written materials at an entrance or exit to a school cafeteria when lunch is being served in the cafeteria. Students may distribute written materials before and after regular school hours at the entrances and exits to school gymnasiums, school stadiums, school auditoriums or other school facilities when those facilities are being used. Students will not distribute written materials in or on school grounds, leased parking lots, or facilities except as stated above.

Students shall not distribute written materials in a manner which disrupts a school activity or which impedes the flow of traffic within hallways or entranceways to the school. No person will be compelled to accept any written material. A person who declines to accept written material will not be threatened, treated with disrespect (verbally or by gesture), or impeded in any manner.

Students who distribute written materials will be responsible for removing discarded and leftover materials from the school facility and grounds before the students leave the school premises after distributing material.

The distribution of written material shall not be restricted or denied solely because of the political, religious or philosophical content of the material. However, students must realize that rights go hand-in-hand with responsibilities and that students have a responsibility to refrain from the distribution of written material which is:

Obscene to minors, meaning material which, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors; and when an average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the written material, taken as a whole, appeals to an obsessive interest in sex by minors of the age to whom distribution is directed;

Libelous, meaning a false and unprivileged statement about a specific individual which tends to harm the individual’s reputation; vulgar, lewd or indecent, meaning material which, taken as a whole, an average person would deem improper for presentation to minors because of sexual connotations or profane language;

A display or promotion of unlawful products or services, meaning material which advertises or advocates the use of products or services prohibited by law from being sold or provided to minors;

Group defamation, meaning material which disparages a group or a member of a group on the basis of race, religious affiliation, ethnic or national origin, gender identity or preference, or handicapping condition. This includes racial, gender related, and religious epithets, “slurs,” insults and abuse; and

Disruptive of school operations, meaning material which, on the basis of past experience or based on specific instances of actual or threatened disruptions relating to the written material in question, is likely to cause a material and substantial disruption of the proper and orderly operation of school activities or school discipline.

Students are required to submit written materials to the school principal five (5) school days in advance of distribution. If the school principal concludes that the submitted written material falls within one (1) or more of the categories of prohibited materials described above, the principal shall notify the students in writing stating the reasons. Distribution without the principal's permission may subject students to disciplinary action as provided herein, and the principal may elect to take action to halt distribution of the material.

Students who violate this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, including suspension. If a student is suspended for violation of this policy or if distribution of a publication is halted by a principal, the student may appeal the decision in accordance with the Jenks District Student Suspension Procedures currently in effect.

This policy does not apply to official school publications, such as yearbooks or student newspapers published as a part of the school curricula. All schools within the Jenks District shall provide a notice in the Student Handbook that by permitting the on-campus distribution of written materials by Jenks Public School students under this policy, the school, the Jenks District, and the Board of Education are not approving any written material distributed by students or endorsing, supporting, or advocating the content of the material. Any student shall be entitled to a free copy of this policy upon request.

Revised by the Board of Education June 1998