Mesa Public Schools board member proposes flag display restrictions
Mesa Public Schools governing board member Rachel Walden proposed a policy last week that would effectively ban pride flags from district classrooms. Mesa Public Schools board member, Rachel Walden, has proposed a policy that would ban the display of any flag that conveys political, social, or ideological messaging by district employees and students. The policy, which would apply to both students and teachers, would allow flags such as the U.S. and Arizona flags, official school flags, flags representing other nations for historical purposes, banners from colleges, universities or professional sports teams, and other flags for district-approved instructional purposes. Walden's proposal was inspired by a policy adopted by the Chino Valley Unified School District in California that effectively banned pride flags from classrooms. However, four other board members did not immediately support Walden’s proposed policy.
प्रकाशित : 11 माह पहले द्वारा Madeleine Parrish, Arizona Republic में Politics
A Mesa Public Schools governing board member has proposed a policy that would ban the display of any flag "which conveys political, social, or ideological messaging" by district employees and students.
Board member Rachel Walden said during the district's May 28 board meeting that her proposed policy was intended to keep classrooms "free from ideology."
It would allow the U.S. and Arizona flags, official school flags, flags representing other nations for historical purposes, banners from colleges, universities or professional sports teams, flags that "denote a recognition of achievement," and other flags for district-approved instructional purposes.
Walden said she modeled it after a policy passed in June 2023 by the Chino Valley Unified School District in California, which effectively banned pride flags from the district's classrooms.
Walden's proposed policy stated that the ban would apply not only to flags but also to "stickers, posters, banners, pennants, articles of clothing, electronic media, or any other unanticipated means of display which would or could be visible or auditorily available to any student or staff member in the normal course of their school related to activities."
It stated that the ban would apply to both students and teachers. But during the May 28 discussion, Walden said she would be "happy to remove" the part about students after hearing concerns from fellow board members about the policy's inclusion of students.
"If students want to wear pride flags or whatever, then that's fine," Walden said.
The agenda item drew one public comment from Ed Steele, who spoke in support of the policy and who is one of 10 people who have filed a statement of interest with the Maricopa County School Superintendent to run for the three Mesa Public Schools board seats that will be up for election this November.
"It's imperative that some sort of effort be made by this governing board to stop the indoctrination in this district," Steele said at the meeting. "The gay pride ... and BLM flags convey ideological and social values that are not shared by everyone in this community or by every student."
The four other board members did not appear to immediately support Walden's proposed policy during the May 28 discussion.
Board member Kiana Sears said she thought it restricted students' freedom of speech, and board members Courtney Davis and Joe O'Reilly suggested the board receive legal guidance on the policy.
Board President Marcie Hutchinson said the board would schedule a closed session at its next meeting on June 11 to review the policy with legal counsel.
In a statement emailed to The Arizona Republic, Walden said her proposed amendment would tell students and teachers that they can't "use school grounds and school classrooms as a platform for activism of any kind."
"Activism expressed through things like promoting agenda-specific flags and banners is not neutral, it's an endorsement," Walden wrote. She said she is "not singling out any one group, cause or agenda."
She added that though students can have different opinions, she thinks they are "not entitled to use the school grounds, or the school classrooms as platforms to advocate those opinions."
In November, Walden sued Mesa Public Schools over its guidelines for supporting transgender students, represented by a conservative legal group headed by former Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller. The lawsuit was criticized by some teachers in the district, who called it "baseless" and said it would hurt students who need the policies.
An oral argument regarding the district's motion to dismiss Walden's lawsuit was scheduled for next week in Maricopa County Superior Court.