Just in time for the November 5th presidential election, Friends Select added a new policy to the faculty and staff handbook that prohibits teachers at Friends Select from sharing their political views with students.
With the election coming up, the school has reinforced a law in the United States. As a non-profit organization, Friends Select School is legally not allowed to endorse any political candidate running for public office. According to the IRS website, “Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.
The policy is not new but was not formally included in the handbook in previous years. It was created to protect the integrity of Friends Select employees and staff. “If an employee was speaking about elections in their official role at the school, there may be confusion as to whether that person is speaking for the school,” Chris Singler, Head of Upper School, wrote.
According to CFO Matt Rosen, teachers have responded seemingly well to the new policy. “For the most part, I think it’s been a policy that teachers are trying to follow,” Matt wrote.
The policy gives educators guidelines for political lessons. According to the policy, “there are times when employees may need to teach or discuss political campaigns, candidates or political topics as part of their work educating students. Examples include instances of School-approved course content, student programming, and professional development. In these instances, employees should take care to ensure that they do not violate this policy.”
The policy can affect things in the classroom. According to Upper School History Teacher Peter Sun, there are some things he is not utilizing like in previous years. In his class, Peter used to show a video of a Yale professor comparing excerpts of then-President Trump’s speeches with elements of fascism. “So that was Trump as president, and this Yale professor was kind of drawing comparisons and in a way making a critique,” Peter said. “That’s a video I wouldn’t use now because Donald Trump is a candidate.”
The policy was created with students in mind. “The school wants all students — regardless of their or their families’ political beliefs — to feel that they can talk to all teachers, learn from all teachers, and not wonder if any teacher treats them differently due to political beliefs,” Chris Singler wrote.
