TEC Educational Access Television Policies

Board of Education/Town of Trumbull

As Approved by the Trumbull Cable Advisory Committee: August 20, 2008

 

I. PREAMBLE

TEC Educational Access Television (“TEC") is supervised by the Town of Trumbull Cable Television Advisory Committee (“TEC Committee”), which is comprised of representatives of the Trumbull Board of Education (“BOE”), the Town of Trumbull, local organizations, and residents. ­The primary goal of TEC is to make the local educational system, community and government more accessible, available, and understandable to the residents of Trumbull through televised media productions.

II. OBJECTIVES

A.To provide programming and information about events, programs and services offered to the Trumbull community by its schools, town departments, and community organizations;

B. To provide residents with school-specific and school system-wide information and events;

C. To expand community awareness of local government and its decision-making process, and to inform residents about the organization of town departments, what town services are available, and how to utilize town services;

D. To provide emergency information and alerts to the community.

III. SUPERVISING AUTHORITY

TEC is under the direct supervision of the BOE and the Town of Trumbull through the TEC Committee. The BOE Manager of Technology is responsible for overall operation and oversight. The TEC Operations Manager reports to the BOE Manager of Technology, and is responsible for daily operations.

IV. PROGRAMMING PRIORITIES

A. Primary Programming Priorities:

1. Televised coverage of school-specific and school system-wide events and programs.

2. Televised coverage of local governmental legislative meetings: Town Council, Board of Finance and Board of Education;

3. Alphanumeric display of school and town-wide emergency announcements, school-specific and school system-wide information and event schedules, announcements and meeting schedules of local governmental departments, commissions, boards and committees; and community information and announcements.

4. Televised coverage of local governmental commissions, boards, and committees: Such as Inland Wetlands Commission, Planning and Zoning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, etc.;

5. Programs regarding town services: Such as the library system, recreation, public safety/crime prevention, fire safety, highway maintenance, animal control, tax assessment/collection, health services, income maintenance, electric/sewer/water utilities, elections, youth, town records/permits, veterans, etc.

B. Secondary Programming Priorities

1. Special programs, whether produced by TEC or by an outside source, on current events or particular community issues: Such as recycling, candidate debates, emergency planning, building projects, health issues, etc.;

V. PROGRAM PRODUCTION AND SCHEDULING

A. Event Production

1. Taping Requests

a. Taping requests will be considered on a first come, first served, non-discriminatory basis with the exception of town government public meetings that will always be given priority. Scheduling of videographers will be in accordance with the policies of TEC and the availability of staff, equipment and other resources.

b. Requests to tape events should be made in writing at least two weeks prior to an event or activity. Requests may be granted depending on time, date, and availability of videographers. TEC reserves the right to decline any request. An authorization form must be signed by both the TEC Operations Manager and the event producer allowing the taping of the event or activity.

c. Cancellation or changes to the location/timing of a taping request should be made to the TEC Operations Manager at least 24 hours prior to the event or activity.

2. Program Production and Editing:

a. Town government public meetings will be recorded and distributed without editing in their entirety, gavel-to-gavel. Recesses will not be recorded and distributed. Explanatory information identifying agenda items and individuals may be provided to aid the viewer.

b. Recordings of meetings will not be considered to be official records of the meeting.

c. Any program prepared for or provided by a town department or agency may be modified or edited as deemed appropriate by the TEC Operations Manager, or an agent directed by the Manager. This determination may be made by policy restrictions or by technical, scheduling or staff limitations and may be subject to the review of the TEC Committee.

d. Programs focusing on individual candidates for public office or elected officials may only be produced by TEC and must be informational in nature.

e. Any panel discussion program that features commentary by elected officials, candidates for public office, or officials representing town departments or agencies, and which may include members of the general public may not be modified or edited. This does not preclude the editing of intro¬ductory, transition or closing segments that are designed to complement the discussion portion of the program.

f. Statements by announced candidates for public office will be permitted in the regular discourse of a public meeting (pursuant to the rules of such meeting) or within a forum of public debate with other declared candidates under the oversight of a non-partial third party using mutually agreeable ground rules.

g. Written permission for the use of copyrighted materials must be authorized in advance by the materials owner and obtained by the program producer sponsoring the local use of the materials.

3. Production Request Review:Production and distribution requests will be subject to the review of the TEC Operations Manager, or designated members of the TEC Committee, for compliance with the policies herein and technical and logistical considerations. The decisions of the Manager or designated members may be appealed in writing to the TEC Committee.

 

B. Use of Production Equipment

1. Municipal Employees -- Employees of town departments who have been certified in the operation of portable, studio or editing equipment may apply for the use of such equipment, providing that the equipment will be used to produce or edit material for an approved project and for airing on TEC.

2. Employees of nonprofit organizations that are funded, in part, by the municipality and members of the general public who have been certified in the operation of portable, studio or editing equipment may use such equipment only under the direct supervision of the TEC Operations Manager or his designate.

3. Prohibited Use -- Equipment that is under the supervision of TEC may not be loaned or rented for personal or commercial use.

C. Community Information Messages

1. Messages for inclusion on an alphanumeric display such as a “scroll screen” or “crawl bar” on TEC may be submitted by any school, government department, town-funded agency or bona fide nonprofit organization that serves the residents of Trumbull. Information for inclusion on alphanumeric displays may consist of program schedules, meeting schedules, meeting agendas, descriptions of services and programs offered by schools, departments and agencies, and messages regarding noncommercial community events.

2. Messages submitted must announce events or services that are noncommercial, open to the general public, and do not discriminate based on age, sex, race, religion, national origin or physical impairment.

3. Messages submitted must not solicit funds. They may, however, provide general information about a specific fundraising event.

4. Messages must be submitted two (2) weeks prior to the event.

5. The TEC Operations Manager will decide which messages are displayed, and reserves the right to edit messages displayed for clarity and brevity, and to determine the format in which the message is displayed.

D. Production Distribution/Scheduling

1. The decision whether or not to air any videotape is made by the TEC Operations Manager. If a videotape is aired, the TEC Operations Manager reserves the right to determine the time and date of broadcast.

2. Program scheduling is the sole responsibility of the TEC Operations Manager.

3. The decisions of the TEC Operations Manager may be appealed in writing to the TEC Committee.

E. Program Production and Distribution Prohibitions

1. Programs that contain, in whole or in part, any of the following subject matter will not be produced or distributed.

a. Commercial Message or Material: Anything promoting a product or service, with the primary objective of producing a monetary profit for a specific for-profit organization or individual, will not be produced or distributed. NOTE: This is not to preclude incidental mention of a business or product where the primary purpose is to disseminate information of public benefit. Businesses, individuals and organizations may be acknowledged for assistance in the production of a program.

b. Political Campaigning: TEC will not be used for political campaigning by individuals or organizations seeking public office or legis¬lation. Neither will TEC be used for the solicitation of funds for political purposes. NOTE: During the four month period preceding an election, pro¬grams which feature individuals who are candidates for election will not be broadcast unless the program is produced for public informational purposes and offers equal time and equivalent format to all candidates for election to a single office. This will not preclude broadcast of public meetings or special forums of public debate which may include candidate participation.

c. Religious Material: Program material that would advocate a particular religious belief will not be produced or distributed. Religious organizations or ideals may be mentioned as incidental information as part of a program. NOTE: This does not preclude the appearance of an individual rep¬resenting a particular religion as part of a program that provides general information. This will also not preclude the distribution of announcements of public events that are sponsored or conducted by religious organizations.

d. Violation of Law or Regulation: Program material that constitutes libel, slander, violation of trademark or copyright, or which might violate any local, state or federal laws, including regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, will not be produced or distri¬buted.

e. Endorsements: At no time will TEC endorse specific brand name products, businesses, or service providers.

VI. WARRANTY

The Town of Trumbull, its officers, employees and agents, do not warrant the accuracy of any information distributed by TEC.

VII. Policy Revision Procedure

Revisions to this policy may be made by 2/3 majority vote of the members in attendance of the TEC Committee.

VIII. Addendum: Board of Education Policy Advisory Committee

TEC Educational Access Television Policy:

TEC provides a valuable service to both the Education community and the Town of Trumbull as a whole as provided for by the State of Connecticut Department of Public Utility Commission. While TEC operates under the auspices of the Board of Education, its’ operating practices and policies, although subject to Board of Education review, are the responsibility of the Town of Trumbull Ad Hoc Cable Television Advisory Committee and are independent of the Board of Education policy Advisory Committee.

Nothing contained in the operating practices and policies of TEC, whether in writing in the TEC Educational Access Television Policies or not, shall conflict with currently established Board of Education policies or any future policies established by the Board of Education. It is the responsibility of the Town of Trumbull Ad Hoc Cable Television Advisory Committee to advise both the Board of Education and the Board of Education Policy Advisory Committee of any anticipated changes in practices or policies, whether in writing in the TEC Educational Access Television Policies or not, to insure that those anticipated changes do not conflict with current or contemplated Board of Education Policy. (amended: January, 2006)