Guidelines for distribution of non-school related materials

Organizations or individuals wishing to distribute, post or make available materials or information to MMSD students through schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District should review the criteria listed below.  

Requests to distribute information regarding a research study must be submitted to our External Research Committee and follow the committee's approval and distribution process.
 

Distribution Criteria

The materials or information made available to MMSD schools and students shall meet the following criteria (per Board Policy #7041 Distribution of Materials):

1. The requestor is a tax-exempt entity (e.g., charitable, educational, registered non-profit, governmental etc.) or non-income generating community group, and not a self-employed individual/ contractor/consultant or for-profit entity seeking to advertise or to recruit participants/customers in connection with the service, activity or product offered by the person/entity. The Superintendent/Designee may approve a proposed posting or distribution that relates to a community program/activity for children that is primarily charitable in nature, but sponsored or underwritten by a for-profit individual/entity, provided that, in the judgment of the Superintendent/Designee, the program/activity is not most reasonably construed as an effort to advertise the actual service, activity or product that is offered for profit (e.g., a “free seminar,” or most “free trial for good grades” offers).
2. The community program/activity must serve K-12 public school-age children;
3. The community program/activity does not violate the law;
4. The community program/activity must be considered appropriate as determined by the SUPERINTENDENT or her/his designee;
5. The materials requested to be posted or distributed are not being provided for the purpose of recruiting current MMSD students to attend a non-MMSD school/educational program/activity that occurs during regular school hours during the school year; and
6. Community programs/activities do not include, for example, (1) raffles or fundraisers seeking to sell products; or (2) any activity, product or service that is generally open to the public at large as an income-generating or for-profit business activity and that is generally not specific to public school-age students, including those being offered at special rates or discounts (including “student is free” offers) to attract or advertise to school-age customers/consumers and their families (e.g., restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, etc.).

Please note that organizations with formalized partnerships with MMSD are exempt from this policy. Please contact the MMSD Partnerships Office for additional details.
 

Approval and distribution process

In an effort to effectively and efficiently provide MMSD families with valuable school, district and community resources -- while being mindful of sustainability goals -- MMSD uses a vendor called Peachjar to manage and distribute  digital flyers to district families.

1. Register at www.peachjar.com as a Community Organization and select the school(s) for distribution. Include call-to-action buttons like “Sign Up” or “Learn More”. At checkout, Peachjar will charge a small fee to submit your PDF flyer.
   • You can also learn more about Peachjar’s Community Free flyer guidelines for organizations offering a free program, service, or resource where children are the direct beneficiary. 
   • Flyers must be uploaded as a PDF. This disclosure will automatically be added to your submission: "This is not a school-sponsored activity and the Madison Metropolitan School District does not approve, support, supervise or endorse this program/activity."
   • Questions about signing-up and user fees should be directed to Peachjar (peachjar.com)
     and their Customer Support Team at 858-997-2117 (option three).
2. Your materials and information will be reviewed by the Superintendent’s designee to confirm that the materials and information meet the criteria for distribution. 
3. Peachjar will contact you via email to let you know if your flyer was approved or denied.
4. Approved flyers will be emailed to parents and posted to each school’s flyerboard. Flyers are approved every other Wednesday.

Please note: once a flyer is approved you/your organization may not modify the content of the materials and information without re-submitting the materials using the approval process outlined herein.