SAN PASCUAL
School district axes national anthem following protest
WINTERHAVEN — The national anthem will not be played at any current or future San Pasqual Valley Unified School District interscholastic sporting events following controversy over San Pasqual Valley High School students’ decision to protest during the anthem at a football game in Arizona in October.
The district’s recent decision to dispense with the national anthem looks to figure largely in a federal lawsuit brought against the district by a San Pasqual Valley High School student athlete who alleged that actions taken by SPVUSD in response to the protests unlawfully restricted his plans to similarly protest during basketball games.
Following the plaintiff’s Oct. 6 protest at Mayer High School in Spring Valley, Ariz., SPVUSD had adopted newly implemented “rules of conduct” during away and home games that mandated all parties “shall stand and remove hats/helmets and remain standing during the playing or singing of the National Anthem.” In response to the Oct. 11 implementation of the district’s rules of conduct, the plaintiff, identified solely as V.A., filed a lawsuit against the SPVUSD on Dec. 8 alleging the “compulsory anthem policy” restricted his rights to free speech and peaceful protest.
“Specifically, Plaintiff seeks to vindicate and protect his right to silently kneel during the playing of the national anthem at school athletic events,” the court complaint stated.
On Dec. 12, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California Judge Cynthia Bashant had issued a temporary restraining order preventing the SPVUSD from restricting students or staff from protesting the national anthem during sporting events. On Tuesday, oral arguments were heard in connection to the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction, which — if granted — would prevent SPVUSD from upholding any policy that would potentially restrict the plaintiff’s protected free speech rights.
Yet, defendants contend that SPVUSD never adopted any formal district policy restricting political activities at its interscholastic athletic events and that the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction is a moot point, according to court documents filed Monday.
“The Superintendent had abandoned the temporary rules described in her October 11th and October 12th writings in favor of dispensing with playing the national anthem,” the defendants’ opposition to the preliminary injunction stated.
Although the outcome of Tuesday’s oral arguments was not immediately known, publicly available court records paint a definitive picture of the Oct. 6 protest at Mayer High School, which prompted some in the community to taunt the San Pasqual students with racial insults disparaging their Native American heritage.
Court records also highlight the district’s subsequent actions, including two letters from SPVUSD Superintendent Rauna Fox addressed to the district’s coaching staff as well as parents outlining the course of action the district intended to undertake in response to the anthem protests.
The SPVHS cheerleaders, who are coached by the plaintiff’s mother, a district employee, had also remained seated during the national anthem during the Oct. 6 football game between the SPVHS Warriors and the Mayer High Wildcats. At the conclusion of the Oct. 6 game, Mayer students had allegedly complained aloud about SPVHS “disrespecting our field and the flag,” and had gotten into a confrontation with the cheerleaders’ head coach and another individual who they doused with water, according to a declaration by SPVHS Principal Darrell Pechtl that was filed with the court Monday.
“The crowd was lead (sic) by a teenage boy yelling about ‘getting number 7’ (V.A.) and forcing him to stand,” stated Pechtl, who was not present at the game but was tasked with subsequently investigating the matter. As a result of the incident, SPVUSD officials had also requested that the Arizona Interscholastic Association remove Mayer High from SPVHS’s football schedule. “To my knowledge, Mayer is not on our schedule for football during the 2018-2019 school year,” Fox stated in an email Tuesday.
Court records filed Monday also detail how contentious the issue had become for the campus community, with community members strongly supporting and opposing the district’s temporary rules of conduct.
“The tone of the competing opinions and viewpoints reflected a divisiveness within the community and was in and of itself cause for my concern that the District, with or without temporary measures in place, would not be able to prevent disruption of the October 12, 2017, football game and reasonably ensure the safety of student athletes, students and parents in attendance,” stated Fox in her declaration in opposition to the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction.
Ultimately, Fox consulted with the Arizona Athletic Association and learned that schools are not required to play the national anthem, paving the way for SPVUSD to dispense with the anthem at the high school’s Oct. 12 home game without incident, her declaration stated. A proposed policy developed by Fox and the SPVUSD board of trustees that was then brought before the board and community for discussion and possible approval at a Nov. 28 special meeting attracted critical commentary from members of the community and the teachers association.
The proposed policy was then tabled until the SPVUSD board’s Dec. 12 meeting, where it was listed as an item for future agendas but resulted in no discussion or action.
“I have not requested that the policy be returned to the agenda for consideration by the Board of Trustees and have no intent to do so without further study, consideration and review through legal counsel and at the state level, if at all,” Fox stated in her declaration.