SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Del Paso Manor Elementary school teacher allegedly censored and trashed Black Lives Matter posters during an art class, according to ACLU of Northern California.
The ACLU sent out a list of demand after a parent and student claimed they were censored and retaliated against by school officials due to their support of BLM.
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Demands included a public apology, reinstatement of a parent's volunteer privileges, incorporation of BLM into the curriculum and school events, staff-wide cultural and sensitivity training, parent engagement training, and allowing students to put up BLM posters.
The parent, identified as Ms. Kincaid, was banned from speaking at the school after she was invited as an art docent to teach a class, according to the ACLU. They said Kincaid had asked students to make posters about a cause they cared about, specifically a change they would like to see in their school.
However, when four students made art posters that supported BLM, the teacher, identified by the ACLU as Mr. Madden, allegedly confiscated the artwork, forced the students to re-do the posters, and threw the originals in the garbage.
The ACLU added that the school principal and district's counsel sided with the teacher, called the art and message inappropriate and said that the posters could legally be censored due to them being political statements.
They say Kincaid was banned after Madden learned she spoke with his superiors.
In response to the ACLU's allegations, the San Juan Unified School District said the situation was being investigated and some of the information alleged is new to them.
According to the district, Kincaid did a lesson that wasn't prepared by the district and without being trained. Art docent volunteers usually deliver district developed lessons aligned to grade-level standards.
The teacher supposedly understood the assignment to be focused on change that the students wanted to see within the school itself.
The district says artwork that was focused on social issues and not tied to the school was asked to be completed the next day, while work that met the assignment was displayed in class.
"It is inconsistent with our values and never our intent or desire for any student to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome to discuss issues that are important to them. We sincerely apologize if this experience made any student feel such discomfort. Censoring a student’s assigned work because of its content would not be acceptable. We are open and committed to continuing our work with students, staff, community partners and others to ensure that our school communities embrace a diversity of thoughts and experiences," the district said in a statement.
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