Sen. Barbara Boxer’s campaign wrote a letter to Los Angeles public school teachers earlier this month asking them to encourage students to volunteer for the Boxer campaign.
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association president Jon Coupal has sent a letter to the Boxer campaign, informing them that their action was illegal:
California Education Code, section 51520 states: “During school hours, and within one hour before the time of opening and within one hour after the time of closing of school, pupils of the public school shall not be solicited on school premises by teachers or others to subscribe or contribute to the funds of, to become members of, or to work for, any organization not directly under the control of the school authorities, unless the organization is a nonpartisan, charitable organization organized for charitable purposes by an act of Congress or under the laws of the state, the purpose of the solicitation is nonpartisan and charitable, and the solicitation has been approved by the county board of education or by the governing board of the school district in which the school is located.”
UPDATE: The Boxer campaign has responded with an apology. “Because some local social studies teachers encourage students to volunteer, Boxer campaign volunteer coordinators notified a handful of schools near the campaign headquarters that the campaign was accepting volunteers,” said Boxer campaign manager Rose Kapolczynski in an e-mailed statement to Battle ‘10. “The letter did not ask teachers to solicit students to work on the campaign or to use school facilities, supplies or equipment for political purposes. The sole intent of the letter was to provide interested students with information about a volunteer opportunity. However, the letter, which was written by a volunteer and reviewed by a junior staffer, was inappropriate and we apologize. The author of the letter has been counseled and campaign coordinators will no longer conduct outreach to public schools.”