School trustees clash over diversity poster, ‘ideologies’ in class
- A conversation on classroom displays got heated among Texas school trustees
- Trustee: Parents were concerned with a poster with 'racially colored hands'
- Another trustee: 'What is the problem with that?'
(File: Getty)
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(NewsNation) — Texas school district trustees recently sparred over a discussion about the display of “personal ideologies” in classrooms, with a diversity poster that featured children of different races holding hands serving as the impetus for the heated conversation.
At Conroe Independent School District’s (ISD) meeting at the beginning of the month, trustee Melissa Dungan said multiple parents have reached out to her with concerns about “personal ideologies” being posted on walls and hallways in classrooms.
“I wish I was shocked by each of the examples that were shared with me, however, I am aware these trends have been happening for many years,” she said.
When asked for an example of what was concerning parents, Dungan replied: “A poster that shows ‘All Belong Here’ with racially colored hands. This was an example that was first brought to me early this year.”
She continued: “I think the intention of the poster was good and the parent thought that the intention of the poster was good. However, the unintended consequences of that poster made the first grader feel like ‘why wouldn’t I be accepted here?’ It had a reverse effect on the first grader because it was in the classroom.”
Dungan said the school district “addressed” the complaint by moving the child into a new classroom. “To avoid situations like that,” she thinks classrooms within the school district should only have the U.S. flag, Texas state flag, or educational displays associated with class curriculum.
“Just so I understand, you are seriously suggesting that you find objectionable, a poster indicating that all are included,” trustee Stacey Chase asked, later adding: “What is the problem with that?”
Dungan responded that she thinks state guidelines should be followed in schools.
Trustee Datren Williams debated Dungan’s agenda item, calling it a “slippery slope.”
“I go in classrooms where I see biblical quotes. I see a lot of stuff that comes directly from the Bible. No one’s jumping up and down about that, but that could be offensive to many folks,” Williams pointed out.
When asked if biblical sayings or verses should be stripped from classrooms, Dungan said, “I don’t know.”
Superintendent Curtis Null said the district’s 5,000 classrooms already have rules in place that say if a display is political in nature or it does not apply to curriculum, it doesn’t belong in the classroom.
Though, he added: “I have never engaged in any conversation about a poster.”
Null said he’s not aware of a situation where the school district’s current rules on displays have not been enforced.
Conroe ISD is the ninth largest school district in Texas and the 60th largest across the U.S. It serves roughly 71,000 students in The Woodlands, Shenandoah, Oak Ridge North, Conroe, Grangerland and other communities in the Lone Star State.