The William S. Hart Union High School District governing board authorized a handful of classroom policies Wednesday that drew a fair amount of controversy, criticism and discussion for officials.
Supporters framed the discussion as protecting students in the classroom from messaging they might find offensive, while opponents felt the policies denied a chance to give students “teachable moments” about their freedoms.
The policies covered: what flags and banners can be flown on campus, restricting that largely to the nation, state and school’s flags, unless exception is given by a designee, such as the principal; the recognition of religious beliefs and customs, as far as when students may be excused; the approval process for agenda items; notification for parents so that children may be excused from discussions that might offend their beliefs; and a requirement for notification of these policies to parents.
Board President Cherise Moore called for a separate discussion of the flag policy, which drew most of the comment on the policy discussion. Both she and student board member Claire Angles, whose vote does not count on the official tally, voted against the flag policy.
The other four policies were approved 5-0.
Board member Bob Jensen at first refused Moore’s motion and called for all five to get approved together, which was stated on the agenda. He said Messina and board member Erin Wilson worked on the policy in committee for months, and Wednesday was a second reading.
Moore said she wanted to have the conversation separately about the flag policy because she had concerns.
“I see my role as one in which I have a responsibility to my constituents who can’t always vote for me,” Moore said, referring to the students. Moore said she wished she could survey all the students, but she does hear from one in her own home. And there it was considered a “freedom of speech” issue, which she said made her proud.
Jensen said his children, while no longer in the district, thought the flag policy was a good idea, and he heard from many, many kids who had different views from the perspective at the meeting “and that’s OK,” he said.
Then Angles said she was confident she’s talked to more students than either board member about the flag policy, and her reaction was close to disbelief, calling the whole discussion “incredibly disappointing.”
She was very concerned that the board’s response to such a polarizing time is to deny students the opportunity to learn how to coexist.
“I am just so disappointed that this is even on the discussion,” she said. “I’m just so confused as to who this is helping.”
The discussion from parents included perspectives that felt it unnecessary to allow any flags but the state or nation’s, while some felt the restrictions would leave the district open to a lawsuit.
A handful of students stayed more than three hours to speak out against the policy and hear the discussion. One student said district leaders’ time would be much better spent addressing issues such as violence in parking lots, growing vandalism in schools, campus violence, students’ behavior at football games and “broken fire alarms at Valencia High.”
Another mentioned there’s a difference between feeling uncomfortable and not feeling safe, and the ability to fly the LGBTQ flag makes some feel safer and welcome. Another felt it brought up “sensitive” conversations, but conversations that need to be had.
One supporter of the district’s new policies said she advocated for the thin blue line flag, but she was told it wasn’t allowed to fly because it was deemed offensive to some.
The actual policy discussion was preceded by a contentious statement from John Minkus, president of the teachers union, who characterized the entire policy discussion as a “vacuous political argument” that had no place in any school district board room and was being used as a pretense by board members to score political points with their supporters.
He was met with cheers and applause from a couple dozen Valencia High School students.
“This is ugly, and you are the face of it,” Minkus said, which prompted board member Joe Messina to challenge how he knew students weren’t offended by the displays of some of the flags that had been flown. “We are charged with opening eyes, not closing them,” Minkus said, saying these were concepts that define the country.
“My question for you is,” Messina said, “Have you actually polled the kids to talk to them to see which ones are uncomfortable? You’re telling me that everybody, every student you talk to, is comfortable with the flags and the banners and they go against what they believe?”
Audience members began to answer but Moore then gave the sign for the Valencia High presentation to begin, which was next on the agenda.
During the previous discussion in August, the district also heard from parents and officials’ concerns over the changes.
At that meeting, the governing board decided to bring back the policies for revision, which was what led to Wednesday’s discussion.
