Irvine Unified School District in Southern California bans non-governmental flags on school campuses, which sparked controversies with the LGBT community, claiming the new policy was discriminatory.
The policy claimed that only US and state flags were allowed to be displayed on campus.
Irvine Unified School District Flag Policy
A rainbow flag is seen during a protest in front of the Public Ministry building to demand non-criminalization, harassment and extortion by public officials in Caracas, on July 28, 2023. A total of 33 men were arrested during a party at a private club for the LGBTI community last weekend in Valencia, Carabobo state, Venezuela and later released under precautionary measures.
A community member, Trustee Paul Bokota, said that trustees had not yet introduced the policy but submitted the policy for consideration at the November 7 school board meeting.
While the policy was still up for discussion, about 30 students, parents, teachers, community members, and activists voiced their sentiments about the new policy during public comment. Those who were against the policy said that the community member submitted the policy to intentionally target the LGBT community and turn down pride flags from classrooms.
"It's clear what this [policy] is about. It's about the pride flag," one commenter said. Those in opposition also pointed out that the pride flags helped the LGBT members feel safe around the campus.
Several commenters referred to statistics by the LGBT advocacy organization Trevor Project and said that the safety of the students should come first as LGBT members have a higher risk of suicide than their straight peers. One teacher shared how he witnessed the impact of pride flags on creating a healthier student environment. "I've seen firsthand the impact that students feeling safe has on their mental health and [academic] success," he said.
One student said that the pride flag does not mean someone needs to be gay to understand the importance of its presence on the campus, but it means "I see you" for the student.
However, the supporters commented that the policy was fair since displaying certain flags and not others excludes some groups. The supporters also called the pride flag alienating but defended that the US and California flags united people as both apply to all students and district community members.
One public commenter said that, to be fair, the policy should allow displaying LGBT and straight pride flags together in consideration of anti-discrimination laws.
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School Board's Discussion
The board said that they were not excluding anyone by omitting all flags, but they were just excluding some students by displaying them. After the rise of the public comments, the board discussed the policy. The discussion resulted in four out of five trustees suggesting they would not approve it when it came time to vote.
However, Trustee Jeff Kim did not disclose his position during the meeting. Trustee Cyril Yu said he noticed no pride or other flags displayed when visiting several school campuses. But he said he saw US flags in the classrooms.
Mr. Yu and Mr. Bokota agreed they supported teachers who displayed US flags in their classrooms. Furthermore, the board would continue to decide for a vote on the policy in the coming weeks. Similar policies were passed in the Chino Valley, and Temecula Valley unified school districts with a conservative board this year.
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