APPS sent the following letters regarding the Board of Education’s speaker policy to Mayor Kenney and to each member of Philadelphia City Council:
April 14, 2021
Dear Councilmember,
On behalf of the members of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, we are writing to ask that you take a stand against the Board of Education’s silencing of the public at its public meetings.
Over the past three months, the Board has imposed a succession of changes in their official speaker policy designed to silence their critics. The Board has, for the first time in District history, implemented an arbitrary cap of thirty adult speakers and ten student speakers. No matter how many official items are on the agenda, or which urgent issues arise—closing of schools for lead and asbestos toxicity, reopening schools during the COVID crisis, for example—the number of speakers will remain capped, preventing members of the public from being heard.
The Board has also imposed a two-minute limit on all speakers. No other governmental body, including City Council, cuts speakers off after two minutes. This new policy makes it difficult to present a coherent argument for or against any official item. It also reduces the number of issues any one speaker can address.
The Board has also made it more difficult for people to submit written testimony and to have that testimony heard during Board meetings.
As Lisa Haver points out in her April 12 Inquirer commentary:
“Organizing and speaking out is the way that people in a democracy can participate in their government. Having the government determine the same number of people at every meeting, no matter how many items or what urgent issues had arisen, masks community urgency on issues. The Board is attempting to silence organized education activists who act as watchdogs over the District’s governing body — one that administers a $3. 2 billion budget.”
The recently amended Home Rule Charter expanded Council’s oversight of the Board. Council has a responsibility to make sure that parents, students, educators and community members can be heard on all issues that come before the Board.
The Board’s new policies violate the State’s Sunshine Act in a number of ways. At least one member of Urb Ed was prevented from speaking at the February Board meeting. Four members of APPS were barred from speaking at the March Action meeting. Two of those had signed up to speak on official agenda items. When the Board barred them, the Board eliminated any opportunity for the public to be heard on those items.
We are asking that you, as a member of the body that oversees the Board, publicly call on the Board to rescind all prohibitions on public speaking: no cap on the number of student or other speakers and all speakers given a full three minutes to express their concerns and ask their questions.
The Board will be meeting three times this month: to consider the revision of official policy, to present next year’s budget, and to vote on official items costing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. City Councilmembers must ensure that the voices of their constituents are not silenced on any of these important issues.
Sincerely,
Lisa Haver
Karel Kilimnik
April 16, 2021
Honorable James Kenney Mayor, City of Philadelphia
Dear Mayor Kenney,
On behalf of the members of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, we are writing to ask that you direct the Board of Education to rescind its recent speaker policy changes.
You have no doubt read the media accounts of the Board’s changes in its official speaker policy, all designed to curtail the public’s ability to be heard on crucial issues facing the District. No matter how many official items are on the agenda, or which urgent issues arise—closing of schools for lead and asbestos toxicity, reopening schools during the COVID crisis, for example—the number of speakers will remain capped, preventing members of the public from being heard.
The Board’s new policies violate the State’s Sunshine Act in a number of ways. At least one member of Urb Ed was prevented from speaking at the February Board meeting. Four members of APPS were barred from speaking at the March Action meeting. Two of those had signed up to speak on official agenda items. When the Board barred them, the Board eliminated any opportunity for the public to be heard on those items.
The Board has refused to respond to the ensuing public outcry, actually imposing even more restrictions on public speech at its public meetings. The Board has changed the deadline on written testimony, and it no longer includes summaries of all written testimony submitted, thus preventing the voices of both those who attend and those who submit testimony from being heard.
The District went from state control to mayoral control after the abolition of the School Reform Commission. At that time, you promised to take a more hands-on approach to the business of the Board and the District.
We are calling on you to direct the Board to rescind the recent changes to the speaker policy and restore the public’s right to be heard on all issues and official items that come before the Board.
Sincerely,
Lisa Haver
Karel Kilimnik
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools 