The @ClarkCountySch, @SuptJaraCCSD and @CCSD_Trustees have not yet withdrawn their proposed regulation to silence teachers from talking about their jobs. They should. But they won't be able to take back the authoritarian impulse that they have revealed. (THREAD 1/x) https://twitter.com/aleksappleton/status/1331730124090142720

If enacted, the regulation would be unconstitutional. I won't focus on that ( @AriCohn has already done a great job at it). We should worry that @ClarkCountySch is not getting good legal advice. But my concern is what this says about district leadership, not its lawyers. (2/x)

The proposal would ban teachers and school staff from expressing opinions on school issues "that arise directly from their work," especially issues related to the person's specific job. Breathtaking. (3/x)

A special education teacher could not speak on how to improve special education. A food service worker could not speak about the quality of school lunches. A fourth grade teacher could not speak about elementary school class sizes or the core curriculum. Jaw dropping. (4/x)

And consider, when we say "could not speak," we mean: Literally, no speaking "regardless of the medium used." No Op-Eds, no public comment to the Trustees, no Twitter, and, technically, not even a private conversation with one's spouse or a friend. That's all speech. (5/x)

It's unconstitutional, but the silencing effect is likely to be very real regardless. The Trustees may nix it. Or it will be enjoined by a court. But that won't erase the fact that some people high in @ClarkCountySch leadership want to do this, and everyone knows it now. (6/x)

The question is, why? Why do district leaders what to silence teachers and other school staff? Why do they want to gag criticism rather than respond to it? This is more than sloppy drafting and bad lawyering. This is what authoritarians do. (7/end)