Critics warn California bill protecting school officials would punish parents who speak out at board meetings

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California Democrats are advancing a bill that would expand state law criminalizing harassment of school officials, as more parents speak out against liberal policies at school board meetings across the state.

SB 596 would expand the terms of an existing law barring parents from disrupting classrooms and extracurricular activities where a school employee is present, to now include off-campus activities where employees are present, such as school board meetings.

Parents would be subject to a misdemeanor charge, facing a $500-$1,000 fine and jail time of up to a year for causing "substantial disorder" at these meetings. SB 596 also expands the definition of "school employee" to "any employee or official of a school district, a charter school, a county office of education, a county board of education, the state board, or the State Department of Education."

Conservative legal experts warned the bill was another attempt by Democrats in the state to restrict parents rights, as parents continue to push back on race and gender policies in their school districts.

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Chico California school board meeting (Chico Unified School District)

"It’s clear they’re trying to chill parents from speaking out," Sarah Parshall Perry, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation told The Daily Signal.

"I find it curious that there’s no definition of ‘substantial’ or ‘disruption’ within the proposed text," Perry added.

Jim Manley, the state legal policy deputy director at Pacific Legal Foundation, also called the bill's language vague, saying it left room for interpretation. He said parents could be targeted for sending just two emails a school employee didn't like.

The most recent version of the bill  defines "harassment" as "a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, torments, or terrorizes the person, and that serves no legitimate purpose."

It adds that this harassment can be just "two or more acts occurring over a period of time, however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose." However, the bill has an exemption for "constitutionally protected activity." 

"If you send two emails that cause a school board official to mentally suffer, technically you fall under this definition," Manley added.

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California mom Aurora Regino speaks to her daughter's school board ahead of a vote offering more transparency for parents. (Chico Unified School Board of Education)

State Sen. Anthony J. Portantino, who sponsored SB 596, defended the bill, saying it "does not infringe on free speech or stifle parental involvement in public education."

'It just protects employees in the same manner and courtesy everyone would expect for a hardworking family member," his office said in a June press release.

"It’s a very sad and concerning situation that people feel it appropriate to harass and intimidate individuals for simply doing their job under the law. No one should be threatened or harassed for providing academic instruction in accordance with California state law," Sen. Portantino said in the release. 

"SB 596 aims to provide a safe and inclusive environment for communities by providing educators and staff safe, off campus, everyday life. It’s important to also be clear, that this bill does not infringe or affect a parents ability to interact with their school district or advocate on behalf of their children. It’s also saddens me that some people are erroneously alarming school parents for a divisive purpose."

The senator's office reiterated these sentiments to Fox News Digital in a statement, and pointed out the bill exempts "all forms of protected free speech."

"Certainly, most Americans are tired of the angry, divisive rhetoric dominating much of the political discourse today. And, most Americans believe in civil conversations and actions that have the potential to lead to a more fruitful and productive outcome than threats and harassment," Senator Portantino's statement read. 

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