These guidelines reflect the most relevant provisions of Chancellor’s Regulation D-130, which governs the use of DOE buildings and resources by candidates running for office.
Do’s
The following are some examples of allowable campaign activities that you can use as part of your campaign strategy.
- Create distribution lists so that you can easily send campaign materials to groups of potential voters by email, social media, and mail.
- Create a special email address that easily identifies your campaign communications (e.g., JohnDoe4CECXX@gmail.com).
- Use your personal social media accounts, blogs, or websites to promote your candidacy. However, if you identify yourself as a CCEC member on your social media account, be sure to include a disclaimer that the views expressed are your own and not those of the CCEC to which you belong.
- Write articles, op-eds, or blog posts, that help promote your opinions and knowledge about educational issues.
- Allow friends and family to volunteer to help you promote your campaign.
- Host and participate in virtual meetings and events that allow you to promote your ideas and provide potential voters the opportunity to ask you questions.
- Distribute flyers and other campaign materials in your neighborhood, at community meetings, near schools (not on DOE property), in parks or other public locations where you may find potential voters.
- Promote your candidacy at non-DOE public or private forums, like community board meetings, community precinct meetings, and other events.
- Bring and display campaign materials at DOE-sanctioned campaign events, like the Candidate Forums.
- Keep a record (e.g., receipts or invoices) of the money you spend on your campaign (note: Chancellor’s Regulation D-130 requires CCEC candidates to keep records of their spending.)
Don’ts
The following campaign activities are prohibited by Chancellor’s Regulation D-130. Engaging in a prohibited campaign activity may lead to sanctions, depending on the nature and severity of the infraction, including but not limited to, a warning to cease improper conduct, suspension or removal of candidates who are current CCEC members and/or disqualification of any candidate.
As further guidance, we have provided some illustrative examples of prohibited campaign activities.
- Don’t use contact information or distribution lists that you have obtained from a DOE employee or by virtue of a current or prior parent leadership role within the DOE.
Example:
- A PTA president using a parent contact information list obtained through the special access PTA executive board members have to parent contact information.
- Don't display backgrounds or other materials identifying you as a candidate, or campaign in DOE-supported virtual spaces (e.g., PA/PTA, Presidents’ Council, SLT, Title I PAC, DPAC, CPAC and CCEC meetings) except for DOE-sanctioned Candidate Forums, including meetings of parent organizations to which all candidates have been invited.
Examples:
- Encouraging attendees during a monthly CEC meeting to vote for you or other candidates, or discouraging attendees from voting for certain candidates.
- Having a Zoom background identifying yourself as a CEC candidate on your screen at a virtual PA/PTA meeting.
- Don’t use your official title or position as a member or officer of a CCEC for the purpose of interfering with or influencing the result of a CCEC election, or to obtain any advantage in connection with any CCEC campaign activities.
Examples:
- Identifying yourself as a CEC member when posting on an official or unofficial PTA Facebook group page to express support for a CEC candidate.
- Encouraging attendees during a monthly CCEC meeting to vote for you or other candidates, or discouraging attendees from voting for certain candidates.
- Don’t use school or DOE equipment or resources to make or distribute campaign materials.
- Don’t post or distribute campaign materials in a school or on DOE property, including by mailing the materials to the PA/PTA or anyone else.
- Don’t send campaign materials to the official DOE email address of parent organizations.
- Don’t post, or ask anyone to post, campaign materials on social media accounts or websites of any DOE-supported parent organization (e.g., PA/PTA, Presidents’ Council, SLT, Title I PAC, DPAC, CPAC and CCECs).
- Don’t ask a DOE employee or a CCEC Administrative Assistant to distribute campaign materials on your behalf.
- Don't spend more than $500 dollars on your campaign.
- Don't share campaign resources with other candidates, including organizing joint events, producing joint campaign materials, or donating funds or services to other candidates.
Example:
- Three candidates jointly produce and mail a postcard encouraging voters to vote for all three candidates that costs $800 in total. This sharing of resources circumvents the prohibition on spending more than $500 on a campaign.
- Don’t solicit or accept campaign contributions or donations from any person or organization, including services such as phone banking or advertising.
- Don't solicit or accept endorsements from political committees, political parties and party officials, or from elected officials, including current Community or Citywide Education Council members.
- Political committees include political action committees, committees formed to support a particular candidate/candidates, and party-constituted committees.
- Accepting an endorsement includes but is not limited to liking, retweeting, posting, or otherwise distributing the endorsement via email, or through your website, social media accounts, or campaign materials.
Examples:
- Tweeting “thank you” in response to an endorsement tweeted by a political action committee.
- Liking a tweet from an elected official endorsing your candidacy, even without adding any text.
- Posting a link on your social media account to the website of a political action committee which contains an endorsement of your candidacy.