FAC

Q: I have run into some First Amendment issues on my college campus. My participation in basic First Amendment activity has resulted in threats of disciplinary action and I also have been denied access to public records. Do First Amendment rights apply to college campuses? A: The First Amendment generally applies only to restrictions on speech by government actors; accordingly, the following analysis applies only to public schools, not private institutions. Campus speech involves all

Q: My City is planning to build a large in-patient psychiatric hospital less than 600 feet from a high school. So far there have been zero safety assessments and yet the City is trying to push it through. We figured this out via a PRA request and subsequently I’ve been making several PRAs – I received a response today and asked for access to the City’s calendars. Without providing any description as to why, they exempted

Q: I understand that the Brown Act requires that agendas  be made public 72 hours in advance of a meeting. Is that 72 business hours or could posting on a Friday morning (ahead of a Monday meeting) be sufficient notice? This notice would be posted at a California Public Charter School. A: As you seem to be aware, the Brown Act requires legislative bodies to post an agenda for all meetings “at least 72 hours before

Q: One of the school districts I cover is considering closing a school. At first the superintendent announced they were closing a school at a board meeting, but after a huge amount of public uproar he backpedaled and said there would be public hearings before a decision is made. The district has set up a fact-finding committee to look at things like declining enrollment numbers in the area, fiscal impact and the impact on academic