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Galligan: School Committee Reviews Public Speaker Rules

[CREDIT: RICLU] A recent report by the ACLU of RI outlines public speaking rules of RI communities governing bodies, including the Warwick City Council and Warwick School Committee. A rule barring personal attacks or salacious comments, unwritten for the Council and written for the Committee, is being chllenged in a lawsuit against the Council.

[CREDIT: RICLU] A recent report by the ACLU of RI outlines public speaking rules of RI communities governing bodies, including the Warwick City Council and Warwick School Committee. A rule barring personal attacks or salacious comments, unwritten for the Council and written for the Committee, is being chllenged in a lawsuit against the Council.
[CREDIT: RICLU] A recent report by the ACLU of RI outlines public speaking rules of RI communities governing bodies, including the Warwick City Council and Warwick School Committee. A rule barring personal attacks or salacious comments, unwritten for the Council and written for the Committee, is being chllenged in a lawsuit against the Council.
WARWICK, RI — Warwick School Committee Chairman Shaun Galligan says the board is re-examining its public speaker rules after an American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island report noted its rules that may unconstitutionally restrict speech.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island released its RI public speech report on rules for public bodies in 39 Ocean State communities following its lawsuit against the Warwick City Council for violating civil critic Rob Cote’s First Amendment rights July 17 lingers in settlement talks.

According to the report, both the Council and Committee has rules limiting public speakers’s speech challenged in the RIACLU suit. For the Council, the rule is an unwritten prohibition against personal attacks, which the ACLU argues is unconstitutional and is asking the court to nullify in its lawsuit, seeking a “declaration striking down the Council’s unwritten practice of preventing members of the public from making comments critical of individual public officials during public comment.”

The Warwick School Committee’s similar rule is written on their agendas. “Comments shall not contain inappropriate or salacious remarks.”

When reached for comment on the School Committee’s version, Galligan said the Committee would adjust its handling of public speech during its meetings.

“Upon review of the ACLU’s recent report on public comment policies throughout Rhode Island, and after comparing the report’s findings to our current practices, I can affirm that we will be making a few modifications to our public comment policies,” Galligan said Monday.
“The changes will prevent the Warwick School Committee from infringing upon an individual’s First Amendment rights, and to improve community relations, Galligan said.

Specifically, he said, “We will be extending the duration of time which a speaker may comment, by 1-minute; the total allowable time for a speaker will now be 3-minutes. This amendment will align Warwick with the majority of City/Town School Committees. Furthermore, we will be modifying the language within the policy which currently may be perceived as restrictive of a speaker’s content, and it will eliminate subjectiveness from the Chair, as to what he/she may deem as ‘inappropriate or salacious’ comments. We will still maintain two public comment periods, the first being for agenda items only, and the second for any other topics or concerns. Members of the public are permitted to participate in both comment periods,” Galligan said.

Rob Borkowski
Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at editor@warwickpost.com with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.

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