School ban on political, social discussion voted down

Pembroke board decides against new prohibition

PEMBROKE — Following nearly four hours of fierce public debate in which townspeople overwhelmingly defended the rights of LGBTQ students and the presence of the Pride flag in classrooms, the Pembroke School Committee voted late Tuesday night against a new policy that would prohibit district staff from displaying or discussing their political and social views on school properties.

All four of the members present voted against creating the policy, including the committee’s chair, Susan Bollinger, who had proposed and drafted it.

“I just wanted people to be able to express their identity that’s dear to them. And so it was meant to do in love, not hate,” she said after more than three dozen people — including students, teachers, and parents — testified, largely in opposition to the proposal.

Bollinger’s proposal would have barred school personnel from advocating or campaigning for “any political candidate or political, partisan, or social policy issue” on district property, according to a draft obtained by the Globe. The proposed policy included a ban on advocacy through the use of flags, posters, buttons, and other materials. It also would have prohibited staff from wearing jewelry or pins that “advocate for any particular group,” according to the draft.

Tuesday’s meeting drew a crowd of hundreds to the Pembroke High School auditorium, where much of the debate centered on the display of the rainbow Pride flag in some classrooms. Several teachers and students said the policy would make schools less welcoming to LGBTQ students.

“If this is passed, I believe that our school will not be as safe as it is now,” said Silas Bell, a 17-yearold junior at Pembroke High.

Speaking on behalf of the Pembroke Teachers Association, Tim Kennedy, a teacher at Bryantville Elementary School, said teachers have a responsibility to create a safe school climate for all children.

“If the concept of treating all others with dignity and respect is a divisive subject, we truly are concerned about the future of this community,” he said.

Many who spoke against the policy also argued it would make the town vulnerable to litigation, with several referencing a letter to the School Committee from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. Lawyers for the civil rights organization called the proposed policy vague, discriminatory, and unlawful.

School boards have become the center of culture wars across the country in which liberal and conservative factions engage in contentious battles over issues like book bans, critical race theory, and gender identity. A debate similar to the one in Pembroke flared in Stoughton two years ago when the superintendent banned school staff from displaying “political” items, including Black Lives Matter, Thin Blue Line, or Pride flags.

In Marblehead, the School Committee is currently considering a proposal that would give its members complete control over what flags and signs can be displayed after a local mother took down a Black Lives Matter flag in the high school cafeteria.

Pembroke Public Schools is a suburban district south of Boston with fewer than 2,500 students. The proposed policy defines “social policy issues” as any subjects “over which the public is deeply divided and are often intensely personal or important to adherents.”

Schools “should be a politically neutral space where students are taught how to think, not what to think,” the proposal said. “We firmly believe that all administrators and staff members within the district hold positions of authority over the student body, thereby exerting significant influence.”

The proposal would have also applied to students, who would have needed written permission from administration to promote any social, political, or religious advocacy related to an afterschool club. Moreover, any student requests would require approval from the School Committee.

Tanya Neslusan, executive director of MassEquality, called the proposed policy “inherently dangerous,” particularly for LGBTQ students who already face a higher risk of bullying, selfharm, and suicide.

Pembroke Selectman Steve Ciciotti, who has children in Pembroke schools, said in an email that he fully supports the spirit of Bollinger’s proposal to “return our school administration and staff to a place of political neutrality, where students are taught how to think and not what to think.” And students, he said, would still have the freedom to express their First Amendment rights.

He was one of a minority of students, parents, teachers, and residents who testified Tuesday in support of Bollinger’s proposal, saying that students whose viewpoints don’t align with their teachers and classmates are afraid to voice their discomfort.

Although the proposed policy did not single out any social or political issues, Pembroke resident Elin Flashman noted Bollinger, who first submitted the proposal in July, repeatedly cited the Pride flag as an example of the materials school staff would be banned from displaying.

In a recording Flashman made of a subcommittee meeting he attended last week and gave to the Globe, Bollinger can be heard discussing the proposal with Superintendent Erin Obey and School Committee member Allison Glennon. In the recording, she said teachers who display the Pride flag make their classrooms “not a safe space” for other families, such as Muslims, Jews, or “another traditionally marginalized group of people” due to their “religious texts.”

“I’ve heard from several people that their students felt uncomfortable with various political symbols in the classroom,” Bollinger said at the start of Tuesday’s meeting.

Flashman has two children in Pembroke schools, including one who identifies as LGBTQ. He feared the policy would have forced teachers to “out” themselves because it would only allow staff members to wear potentially political or socially conscious accessories that “represent a part of their own personal identity or culture.”

“Let’s not create a policy to solve unreported issues,” Flashman told the School Committee. “I trust our teachers and administration. So let’s allow them to do their jobs.”