To show it or not to show it? That debate is rippling through school districts across the state and nation over President Obama's televised back-to-school address planned for students next Tuesday.

With just four days left until the first day of school for most students, school administrators spent Thursday fielding angry phone calls and e-mails. Some parents and community members are pressuring schools not to show the telecast, arguing that it's an attempt to advance the president's political agenda through the public schools.

"Some parents are calling their superintendent and saying they're not going to have their kids go to school," Education Minnesota President Tom Dooher said at a Thursday afternoon news conference. Dooher urged superintendents to show the broadcast anyway, for its educational value.

"The education of our students shouldn't become a partisan pawn for those who are trying to score political points against the president," he said.

The Minnesota Association of School Administrators, however, is recommending against disrupting normal opening-day activities to show the speech.

The controversy is rippling through public school systems from California to Florida.

Some school officials say they didn't know about the speech until this week. But in a letter sent to principals across the country on Aug. 26, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that "Obama's message will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals and take responsibility for their learning."

The Education Department called the speech a "historic moment" -- an American president speaking directly to the nation's students about persisting and succeeding in school. It will be telecast at 11 a.m. CDT on the White House website and C-SPAN.

Some schools around the nation are banning the speech, but Minnesota school districts contacted by the Star Tribune -- including Minneapolis, St. Paul and Anoka-Hennepin, the state's largest districts -- are leaving the decision up to teachers and principals.

"The bottom line is we just don't consider this to be political," said Minneapolis district spokesman Stan Alleyne. "We consider this to be a message of inspiration and motivation."

Some plan to opt out

But some parents aren't so sure. Farmington parent Steve Wilson said he was weighing his options, including pulling his two elementary-age sons out of school during the time the speech is shown. After meeting with his sons' teachers for orientation Thursday evening, he was relieved to learn that their classes would not be watching the speech.

Anoka-Hennepin schools officials have instructed principals to view the speech, then decide whether it can be shown in their schools, said district spokeswoman Mary Olson. "It might not be appropriate for all grade levels, or they might decide not to show it," she said.

In Bloomington, every caller who's expressed concerns over the speech has "cited misinformation gleaned from a blog or website that is disseminating anti-Obama rhetoric," said district spokesman Rick Kaufman. "We've been told very clearly that this isn't going to be a policy or a stump speech."

In the Elk River School District, staff were originally told to "adhere to their approved first-day agendas," which meant no watching of Obama's speech. But now district spokesman Casey Mahon says schools will provide a location outside the classroom for students and staff members who want to watch it.

Mahon said the district first learned of Obama's speech Tuesday night from a parent.

"We were never officially notified," he said. "We're in a reactive mode in trying to deal with something that probably has good intentions, but it would've been nice to have had a head's up."

Most districts will excuse students from school if parents want to "opt out" of the president's speech. But in Minneapolis, getting an excused absence won't be so easy. Alleyne said if teachers decide to incorporate the speech into their lessons, "We do expect students to honor judgment of their teachers and participate."

Speech under fire in D.C., too

Obama's speech is also roiling the waters on Capitol Hill.

On Wednesday, Minnesota Rep. John Kline, the ranking Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, sent a letter to the White House asking that it release a preview of the message for parents to review, "Just as parents are able to review a textbook before it is used or consider a planned field trip before children leave the classroom."

Alexa Marrero, a spokeswoman for the Republicans on Kline's committee, said several House members have approached them with concerns from constituents that Obama would be delivering a political speech. Those concerns arose partly from a suggested lesson plan released by the Department of Education that originally encouraged students to write a letter about "what they can do to help the president."

That lesson plan has since been revised to suggest writing about "how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals."

Responding to Kline's letter, White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage emphasized that it is "not a policy speech" and that Obama would speak to students about "the value of education and the importance of staying in school."

The White House also said it would release Obama's text a day before it is to be delivered.

Aimée Blanchette • 612-673-1715

Staff writers Eric Roper, Sarah Lemagie, Emily Johns, Norman Draper and Greg Patterson contributed to this report.