SIMI VALLEY : School Board May Bar Classroom Ads
The board of the Simi Valley Unified School District has agreed that the district needs a policy that would prohibit commercial advertising in the classroom.
Board President Judy Barry, concerned about the possibility of the classroom news program “Channel One” being used in Simi schools, gave fellow board members Tuesday a sample policy developed by the California School Board Assn. prohibiting commercial television in the classroom.
“Channel One” is a 12-minute news show that includes two minutes of commercials. Video equipment needed to show the program is provided free by Whittle Communications of Knoxville, Tenn., on the condition that the program be shown every day. The news package is geared to junior and senior high school audiences.
Although the district now has a guideline against commercial advertising in the schools, commercialism is allowed if it is incidental to an educational program. Board members asked staff to develop a new policy that would address incidental advertising directly.
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