The Democratic school board has been in charge in Central Bucks for three months, and the repeal of our previous board’s policy 321 is already plaguing the district. Policy 321 called for balance and neutrality in the classroom, whether in the context of teaching the Board-approved curriculum, facilitating discussions about current events, addressing students’ questions, conversing with students about social or political matters, or assessing students’ responses and work products.
The policy also stopped teachers from displaying flags or posters advocating any political or sociopolitical activities and issues in the classroom. When the Democrat majority took over, school board Member Heather Reynolds motioned to halt Policy 321 during their first school board meeting. She did not reference how to protect students from unwanted political activism (which is currently happening in our buildings). Her fellow Democratic school board members agreed with her, and the audience clapped. There has already been fallout from the repeal of the policy, and parents should be very concerned about where the district is heading.
The district is allowing anti-Israel political activism during school hours. Recently, it was brought to the attention of several parents that an organization in Central Bucks West High School is allowing students to gather during lunch and learn to write anti-Israel letters to the Pennsylvania state treasurer to stop dropping bombs in Gaza. Not only is this political activism, it doesn’t make sense.
The state treasurer has nothing to do with how Israelis protect themselves from a terrorist organization or how Israel conducts missions to rescue hostages. This student activity was purely to sway children’s views about political candidates–the one thing our previous board worked diligently to stop. I recently saw school board President Karen Smith at an event with the Democratic candidate running for state treasurer.
The latest thing teachers are doing is hanging huge “progress” flags in my child’s middle school. Some say this isn’t political and makes children feel safe. I am not sure why an American flag doesn’t promote the feeling of safety. The real problem is, what if a teacher says the same thing about a Palestinian flag? Or what if parents don’t want their children to believe they can change genders?
No guidelines or parameters are set up to say what type of political symbols are allowed in school. As a community, we need the district to explain what it is doing to protect all children since they need to feel safe, and it is only focused on a small minority.
The previous policy of keeping all symbols and flags out of school was working to protect all kids. Now, it’s a free-for-all, and I am very concerned for our Jewish community. If the district is allowing anti-Israel political activism in districts, why not Palestinian flags and marches in the buildings? It’s very disappointing this is the trajectory our district is taking. The politicizing of our children and schools has to stop immediately. It’s hard to understand why people in Bucks County voted for school board members who want politics to be a school priority. Here we are, though. It’s a terrifying time in Bucks County.
