Jordan Copeland Comments on the Proposed Guidelines for Student Expression
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(The following comments were made by Jordan Copeland at the August 24, 2026 meeting of the Board of Education)
I've spoken about the Guidelines for Student Expression twice before, so tonight I want to focus on binding legal precedent that I think presents a serious problem with the guidelines.
As reiterated by the Second Circuit, which covers Scarsdale, in Guiles v. Marineau (2006), if student speech is school-sponsored, Hazelwood gives the District broader authority to regulate it for legitimate educational or pedagogical reasons. But for a student’s personal expression that isn’t vulgar or subject to another recognized exception, Tinker applies, and the District generally needs a reasonable forecast of material and substantial disruption. Hazelwood applies “only when the student speech is ‘school-sponsored’ or when a reasonable observer would believe it to be so sponsored.”
That's important because the proposed guidelines appear to use a different test. They don't ask whether the speech is school-sponsored. They ask whether the activity is school-sponsored and whether the student is an "active participant.” Those are two different standards in important ways.
Examples of school-sponsored speech that can clearly be regulated under Hazelwood are a student's article in the school newspaper, a student's lines in a school play, or an approved graduation address. But a student's personal political button while displaying artwork at an exhibition doesn’t become school-sponsored speech because the student is an "active participant." Neither is a football player's kneeling as a silent political gesture, or a student's political clothing at prom. No reasonable observer would think the District was speaking through that student's button, gesture, or clothing; the school did not sponsor those expressions and they could not reasonably be viewed as bearing the school's imprimatur.
Guiles is particularly relevant because it highlights this distinction. A student wore a political T-shirt to school and was disciplined. The Second Circuit held that Hazelwood didn't apply because the school didn't sponsor the shirt and the shirt couldn't reasonably be viewed as bearing the school's imprimatur. It therefore applied Tinker and held that the school violated the student's First Amendment rights because there was no substantial disruption.
So there's a very specific question that you should have answered to your satisfaction by District counsel before proceeding with these guidelines: What is the legal authority for replacing the Second Circuit's distinction between school-sponsored speech and personal student speech with a distinction based on whether the student is an "active participant" in a school-sponsored activity?
If you don’t get a satisfactory answer to this, I think you should directly harmonize the guidelines to the appropriate legal standard so the District is on stronger legal ground.
Best,
Jordan Copeland
45 Woods Lane
Opening Soon: Sprouts Farmers Market and Capretta
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Sprouts Farmers MarketWithout a market in Scarsdale Village, it often feels like we have limited options for groceries. That will be changing soon when DeCicco’s opens their new “Piccolino Market” in Scarsdale. We stopped by and saw a full crew at work at the store. The exterior windows are in and workmen appeared to be making progress on the interior. Fingers crossed for an opening this fall.
Sprouts Farmers Market
Meanwhile – another market is opening on Central Avenue in the space previously occupied by BEST Market at 393 N. Central Park Avenue in Hartsdale. And this one has a scheduled opening date… Friday September 4, 2026.
Sprouts Farmers Market combines the best of a farmers market with the convenience of a neighborhood grocery store. Dedicated to helping people live and eat better, the retailer offers the season’s freshest, most delicious produce at the heart of the store – all sourced in partnership with local and regional farmers. Sprouts opened its first New York state store earlier this year in January in Centereach Long Island.
From healthy proteins such as no anti-biotics ever chicken to $5 Sushi Wednesdays and its famous $5 sandwiches, Sprouts welcomes exploration and discovery in every aisle.
They offer fresh produce, meats, fish, dairy, prepared meals and more. And from what we can see online, the prices look reasonable!
Capretta
Construction at Capretta
And in Scarsdale Village, in the space previously occupied by the Japanese Restaurant Akai, the Z Hospitality Group is launching Capretta, a new chef-driven modern Italian restaurant at 57 Spencer Place, Scarsdale. We don’t know much about what’s in the works, but we do know that it will be an Italian restaurant from the same group that runs Aurora in Rye, and Terra and Mediterraneo in Greenwich and a few restaurants in New Canaan. We stopped by and saw construction in process on a colorful tile floor -- and hope that the new restaurant will open soon enough to greet you when you come back from your summer vacation.
Construction is in process at Piccholino - the new market in Scarsdale.
Village Board Considers Licensing Requirements for Design Professionals, Fines and Penalties for Violations of Building Code and More Land Use Code Changes
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The Village Board discussed a draft of proposed changes to land use code at a work session prior to the Village Board meeting on July 14, 2026. After reviewing them, the Board asked Village Staff to revise them in places and agreed to call for a public hearing in August.
In the interim, they invite the public to review the proposals and email their comments to [email protected].
A memo from the Village Attorney provided an overview of the proposed changes – and you can see that explanation here:
Appearance Tickets
The first change expands the list of Village employees who are authorized to issue appearance tickets for violations of Village Code and Property Maintenance Code. The new list adds the Director of Planning and the Assistant Civil Engineer to the list of those authorized to issue appearance tickets.
Environmental Quality Review and SEQRA Review
These amendments eliminate provisions of Scarsdale Village code that are duplicative of the State Environmental Quality Review regulations. The changes involve wetlands permits and also empower the Director of Planning to be responsible for navigating the SEQRA process.
Freshwater Wetlands
The proposed changes are intended to simplify languages and processes and to remove provisions that have allowed certain types of encroachments into wetland-controlled areas and restricted buffers. The proposed code would charge the Village Engineer and or the Director of Planning to grant approvals regarding minor structures within 50-150 feet of a wetlands and to grant approvals for cutting trees within 50-150 feet of a wetlands. This would free up the Planning Board to review more substantial applications.
Licensing of Design Professionals
This new provision would require Design Professional who receive land use approvals from the Village to be licensed from the Village of Scarsdale. Design professionals are defined as “person who is an architect, engineer, landscape architect, or land surveyor issued a license by the State of New York, or a person who is an ISA Certified Arborist.”
This would allow the Village to revoke the license or deny an application if:
1. The applicant has submitted false or materially misleading information and/or certifications in connection with four (4) or more applications for Land Use Approval within the prior 12 months.
2. The applicant has been issued four (4) or more stop-work orders in the Village of Scarsdale within the prior 12 months.
3. The applicant has been issued four (4) or more Notices to Correct or Notices of Violation in the Village of Scarsdale within the prior 12 months.
Site Plan Approvals
These changes address the sequence of approvals from Land Use Boards and changes which projects need to be reviewed by the Board of Architectural Review. Read the memo to see which applications required BAR review.
Stop Work Orders
The memo outlines a new schedule of fines and penalties for work done without site plan approval or work that deviates from the approved site plan.
Here are the proposed fines and penalties:
First offense, by a fine not less than $500, not to exceed $1,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both. The penalty for a corporate offender's first offense, by fine not less than $2,500, not to exceed $5,000, or any higher amount not exceeding double the amount of the corporation's gain from the commission of the offense. Each day that any such violation shall continue or exist shall constitute a separate and distinct offense hereunder.
2. For a second offense within five years after a conviction of a first offense, by a fine not less than $1,500, not to exceed $2,500, or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both. The penalty for a corporate offender's second offense, by fine not less than $7,500, not to exceed $15,000, or any higher amount not exceeding double the amount of the corporation's gain from the commission of the offense. Each day that any such violation shall continue or exist shall constitute a separate and distinct offense hereunder.
3. For a third offense within five years after a conviction of a second offense, which took place within three years after a conviction of the first offense, by a fine not less than $4,000, not to exceed $6,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both. The penalty for a corporate offender's third offense, by fine not less than $25,000, not to exceed $50,000, or any higher amount not exceeding double the amount of the corporation's gain from the commission of the offense. Each day that any such violation shall continue or exist shall constitute a separate and distinct offense hereunder.
In addition, the offender could be subject to a civil penalty up to $50,000.
Free Westchester Band Concerts Begin on Thursday June 25
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Why travel miles to Manhattan to pay for an expensive night of entertainment, when you can grab a chair, pack a dinner and head to Chase Park in Scarsdale Village, and relax under the stars with friends and family, while enjoying the FREE summer performances of the Westchester Band?
Scarsdale is one of the few Westchester communities that is still fortunate to benefit from free concerts every summer in their town. For nearly 60 years the Westchester Band, a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization, has been entertaining generations of residents and friends with repertoire of Marches, Broadway and light Classics, original band works, rock arrangements, and audience participation with mystery tunes and prizes. The Band is made up of talented members of the community, professionals, amateur, and outstanding student musicians, and the concerts are free due to the sponsorship of the Scarsdale Department of Parks and Recreation, local merchants, and donations from the Friends of the Westchester Band.
Under the direction of Maestro Alan Hollander, the Band performs every Thursday night at 8:00PM in the park, beginning June 25th, and ending August 6th. In the event of rain, the concerts are moved to the auditorium at Scarsdale High School (1057 Post Road.)
Additionally, the Band will play its annual Independence Day concert at the Scarsdale Village Pool (311 Mamaroneck Road) on Thursday July 2 , starting at 7:30 PM and will accompany the July 4th Fireworks display at 9PM.
This year promises to be filled with extra spectacular performances as we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
The Westchester Band is grateful to the generous supporters who share a passion in ensuring that the Band continues to make music accessible to all. Donations are greatly appreciated and tax deductible. Interested donors can mail checks made payable to “Friends of the Westchester Band” to 41 Van Etten Boulevard, New Rochelle, NY 10804.
For more information, please visit westchesterband.org.
2,066 Boxes of Cereal Fall Like Dominoes at Greenacres
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The Greenacres Cereal Box Dominoes was another tremendous success!! Second grade teacher Ms. Mateja said, “Greenacres staff members worked together to organize and set up 2,066 cereal boxes, both the day before and the morning of the big event. All students and staff members carefully filed into the Learning Commons to enjoy the domino fall.”
“The boxes set up in rainbow order in memory of Zachary Snetiker was a beautiful display. Once the first box began to fall one could see students jumping up and down, screaming, cheering, and waving their arms in the air. When the big event came to an end, the fourth graders worked diligently to put all of the boxes into bags to be transported to the Kol Ami Food Pantry. Thank you to all who donated to provide 2,066 boxes of cereal to those in need. We cannot wait for the drive to take place again next year.”
