Franklin Community School Corporation
Bylaws & Policies
 

9700 - RELATIONS WITH SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

Any request from civic institutions, charitable organizations, or special interest groups which involve such activities as patriotic functions, contests, exhibits, sales of products to and by students, sending promotional materials home with students, graduation prizes, fund raising, and free teaching materials must be carefully reviewed to ensure that such activities promote student interests without advancing the special interests of any particular group.

It is the policy of the Board of School Trustees that students, staff members, and Corporation facilities not be used for advertising or promoting the interests of any nonschool agency or organization, public or private, without the approval of the Board or its delegated representative; and any such approval, granted for whatever cause or group, shall not be construed as an endorsement of said cause or group by this Board.

 

A.

Political/Commercial Interests

 
 

All materials or activities proposed by outside political or commercial sources for student or staff use or participation shall be reviewed by the Superintendent on the basis of their educational contribution to part or all of the school program, benefit to students, and no such approval shall have the primary purpose of advancing the name, product, or special interest of the proposing group.

 
 

The Board shall permit the use of educational materials, programs, and equipment which contains commercial messages providing the content of such messages and the manner of presentation has been approved by the Superintendent and is in compliance with the Corporation's administrative guidelines.

 
 

Outside speakers representing commercial organizations will be welcome only when the commercial aspect is limited to naming the organization represented and the subject matter advances the educational aims of the Corporation.

 
 

B.

Contests/Exhibits

 
 

The Board recognizes that contests, exhibits, and the like may benefit individual students or the Corporation as a whole, but participation in such special activities may not:

 
 

1.

have the primary affect of advancing a special product, group, or company;

 
 

2.

make unreasonable demands upon the time and energies of staff or students or upon the resources of the Corporation;

 
 

3.

involve any direct cost to the Corporation;

 
 

4.

cause the participants to leave the School Corporation, unless:

 
 

a.

the Board's policy 2340 - Field and Other Corporation-Sponsored Trips has been complied with in all aspects;

 
 

b.

the parents of a minor student have granted their permission.

 
 

C.

Distribution/Posting of Literature

 
 

No outside organizations or staff member or student representing an outside organization may distribute or post literature on that organization's behalf on Corporation property either during or after school hours without the permission and prior review of the Superintendent or designee.

 
 

The Superintendent shall establish administrative guidelines which ensure that:

 
 

1.

criteria established in policy 5722 - Student Publications and Productions are used to make a decision regarding materials that students seek to post or distribute;

 
 

2.

distribution or posting of materials employees wish to distribute on behalf of an employee organization comply with the terms of negotiated collective bargaining agreements;

 
 

3.

no materials from any profit-making organization are distributed for students to take home to their parents; unless authorized by the Superintendent;

 
 

4.

the time, place, and manner of distribution of all nonschool-related materials is clearly established and communicated.

 
 

D.

Solicitation of Funds

 
 

Any outside organization or staff member representing an outside organization desiring to solicit funds on school property must receive permission to do so from the Superintendent or designee.

 
 

Permission to solicit funds will be granted only to those organizations or individuals who meet the permission criteria established in the Corporation's administrative guidelines. Solicitation must take place at such times and places and in such a manner as specified in the administrative guidelines. In accordance with Board policy 5830, no Corporation student may participate in the solicitation without the Superintendent's approval.

 
 

1.

The Board disclaims all responsibility for the protection of, or accounting for, such funds.

 
 

2.

Solicited funds are not to be deposited in any regular or special accounts of the Corporation.

 
 

3.

A copy of this policy as well as the relevant administrative guidelines shall be given to any individual granted permission to solicit funds on Corporation property.

 
 

4.

This policy does not apply to the raising of funds for Corporation-sponsored or school-sponsored activities.

 
 

5.

Use of the name, logo, or any assets of the Corporation, including, but not limited to facilities, technology, or communication networks, is prohibited without the specific permission of the Superintendent or designee.

 
 

Crowdfunding activities aimed at raising funds for a specific classroom or school activity, including extra-curricular activity, or to obtain supplemental resources (e.g., supplies or equipment) that are not required to provide a free appropriate public education to any students in the classroom may be permitted, but only with the specific approval of the Board upon recommendation of the Superintendent.

 
 

All crowdfunding activities are subject to Policy 6605 and any administrative guidelines adopted by the Superintendent to implement Policy 6605.

 
 

Any booster club or school-support group that may use students in a fund-raising activity must comply with I.C. 4-32-9-34, namely, that no student under the age of eighteen (18) may play, participate in, or sell tickets for any of the following types of fund-raising events - bingo games, charity game nights, raffles, door prizes, fund-raising festivals, activities related to pull tabs, punchboards, tip boards, and the like.

 
 

E.

Prizes/Scholarships

 
 

The Board is appreciative of the generosity of organizations which offer scholarships or prizes to deserving students in this Corporation. But, in accepting the offer of such scholarships or prizes, the Board directs that no information either academic or personal shall be released from the student's record for the purpose of selecting a scholarship or prize winner without the permission of the student who is eighteen (18), or the parents of a student who is younger in accordance with the Board's policy on student records.

 
 

F.

Sale of School Supplies

 
 

In determining the appropriateness of the sale of school supplies by organizations other than the Corporation, the Board requires that:

 
 

1.

the organization have a purpose which will benefit the Corporation and its students;

 
 

2.

the organization's planned activities are clearly in the best interest of the Corporation and its students;

 
 

All funds generated by the sale of such school supplies shall be kept separate from other activity funds or other transactions of the Board.

 
 

G.

Surveys and Questionnaires

 
 

Neither Corporation-related nor noncorporation-related organizations shall be allowed to administer a survey or questionnaire to students or staff unless the instrument and the proposed plan is submitted, in advance, to the Superintendent. If approved in accordance with the Superintendent's criteria, a copy of the results and the proposed manner of their communication are to be provided to the Superintendent for review and approval before they are released.

I.C. 4-32.2-4
I.C. 4-32.2-5
I.C. 4-32.2-5-21

Revised 2/12/18

© Neola 2016