Report: DPS superintendent Alex Marrero requiring NDAs for ex-employees

• The agreement says former employees can't discuss their experience in the district for three years after their employment ends, per details first reported by the Denver Gazette.
• Jones said the practice has become standard practice under Marrero's leadership.

Why it matters: Requiring a nondisclosure agreement could have a chilling effect on school employees' ability to discuss what happens inside a public department.

Context: NDAs are legally enforceable and are often used to ensure certain information remains confidential.

• They're typically used in situations where employees have access to things like trade secrets and other sensitive information.

What they're saying: The district's NDAs "strictly adhere to Colorado law," which means that any rules in those agreements are legally compliant, district spokesperson Scott Pribble said in a statement to Axios.

• "It is common for employers to offer severance to employees in exchange for certain protections in the form of a severance agreement," Pribble wrote in a statement.

• The agreements often include clauses meant to serve as a "safeguard" for the district and the former employee, and seek to avoid "bad-mouthing" from both sides.

The other side: Jones, who worked in the district for nine years, told the Denver Gazette he wonders what the district is trying to keep from the school board by requiring the agreements.