State Superintendent Of Public Instruction Thrown Out Of Public Meeting

“I ask you to consider this: that the policy that you consider tonight…may put our students at risk because they may not be in homes where they can be [safe]...”

– Tony Thurmond

In a perfect world, all children would have relationships with their parents where they felt safe to discuss any subject without hesitation. Homes would be judgment-free zones where all children, even those questioning their gender identity, would be accepted and loved unconditionally. But in the words of Ice T, It “ain't like that."

In reality, there are children whose physical well-being would be put in danger if their parents were to find out that they were members of the LGBTQ+ community. Others might face emotional abuse or estrangement. According to the National Coalition For The Homeless, "LGBTQ+ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQ youth." These effects are not limited to parents whose hopeless bigotry is stronger than their love for their children. Some may have unwittingly sent homophobic messaging that they would surely drop if they knew how much they were hurting their child. Others might be struggling to process reality but, given the time, may provide the acceptance that is deserved.

It is families within this last group of parents who will be hurt by policies like the one just passed by the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD). By requiring parental notification "after a student requests to identify with a gender different than what is on their birth certificate", politicians are forcibly outing children at a pace that they may not be ready for. They are also eliminating a path to support from outside the family structure, which is essential when "LGBTQ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers."

Invited by students to speak against the proposed policy, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond addressed the CVUSD Board before they voted. While elected officials are customarily allowed to speak without restriction at public meetings, Thurmond’s time was limited to one minute after which his microphone was cut off. When he approached the podium again to rebut the Board President's response to his comments, he was evicted from the room. Bullies do not like when someone stands up to them.

In response to these events, I am sending the following letter to Thurmond thanking him for standing up for the students and asking for increased pressure on the LAUSD to do more in this fight:

Mr. Thurmond:

After watching a video of the July 20, 2023, meeting of the Chino Valley Unified School District’s (CVUSD) Board of Education, I am deeply disturbed by the lack of respect shown not only to you but to others who attended this meeting to support the rights of our LGBTQ+ community. It was clear that the Board President was more interested in silencing the opposition than she was in evenly applying the rules. I hope that the proper safeguards are being put in place to ensure that future meetings of this Board do not violate the First Amendment rights of participants.

As you are aware, the anti-LGBTQ+ rule passed by the CVUSD is a result of efforts by the right-wing to take control of our school systems. Just last month, an LAUSD School and the Glendale Unified School District were subjected to violent protests by these groups. At least one of the speakers at the CVUSD meeting was visibly present during these violent protests.

Much of this hatred is being fueled by GOP Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. The target of his hatred has not only been members of the LGBTQ+ community but also immigrants and racial minorities. Just last week it was revealed that DeSantis’ education department released standards stating that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

Despite the passage of the “Don’t Say Gay” and Stop Woke laws by DeSantis and his minions in the Florida legislature, the Los Angeles Unified School District signed a $6 million contract with the Florida Virtual School, which is affiliated with the Florida Department of Education. Under this contract, up to 6,000 Los Angeles students will be using services provided by this school in Florida. Will the curriculum used in this program exclude acknowledgment of the LGBTQ+ community or pretend that slaves benefited from their lack of freedom?

Unfortunately, the LAUSD Board did not even debate this contract nor have they answered to the criticism of it. I ask that you use the same courage that you displayed at the CVUSD meeting to confront the members of the LAUSD Board. Families in Los Angeles deserve to know whether the hatred in Florida is being spread to our students.

____________________________

Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.