Fair Campaign Practices Act Do's and Don'ts

DO's

✅ Pass a resolution advocating for or against a particular issue on the ballot

✅ Publicize the passage of that resolution through the normal channels the board uses to pass on information about its decisions

✅ Distribute a factual summary on any issue that will appear on the ballot (the summary must include arguments for and against the proposals, and may not state a conclusion or opinion either way)

✅ To distribute the factual summary using public funds, adopt a resolution expressing that the issue is of “official concern” and specifically authorizing expenditure of public funds to dispense the summary

DON'TS

⛔ Spend any public money to contribute to any cause, ballot, or candidate campaign

⛔ Send out mailings or newsletters on behalf of the Board, urging electors to vote a particular way on a ballot issue

⛔ Send out a factual summary that only gives a positive spin or a negative spin on a ballot issue (even if it doesn’t specifically encourage a particular vote)

DO'S

✅ Spend personal money or time advocating for or against ballot issues

✅ Respond to unsolicited questions from the public about state and local ballot issues

✅ Allow campaign literature from campaign committees to be distributed at back-to-school nights or similar community forums, so long as Board policy is followed and applied even-handedly

✅ Allow the campaign committees to use district facilities for campaign meetings or activities, so long as Board policy is followed  and applied even-handedly.

DON’TS