RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. (KGTV) — Several different groups that support the LGBTQ+ community have raised concerns about actions at a school in Rancho Santa Fe.
They question whether the school district is a welcoming place.
The advocates say administrators removed books from a book fair and stickers put up by a teacher in a classroom that let LGBTQ+ youth know they're in a safe spot.
At Thursday night's school board meeting, Rancho Santa Fe district officials got an earful during the public comment section.
"A number of organizations, including GLSEN San Diego, P Flag, other organizations in San Diego, spoke out about their concerns about the actions of the superintendent and the board," says David Olsen, a board member at GLSEN San Diego.
GLSEN is a San Diego-based organization that works to create a better world for LGBTQ youth. Olsen says the organization was there to speak up for a R. Roger Rowe Middle School teacher and against other actions the district has taken.
"This teacher in particular had a rainbow lanyard that she was wearing and safe place stickers in her classroom. She was asked to remove them," Olsen says. "There were also books at a book fair with an LGBTQ theme that were removed."
ABC 10News also got a copy of a letter sent by some parents to the school board that said they were disheartened by recent actions.
On Friday afternoon, the district emailed ABC 10News a two-page letter that was sent to parents last week by school board president John Tree.
Tree wrote in part, "The two rumors being circulated allege that the Board has banned books and also that the Board stands against the LGTBQIA community. Both of these rumors are blatantly false."
In the letter, Tree explained the district did pull some books aside from the book fair that it deemed to be controversial after receiving some complaints from parents.
"The Board will work with administration on how to better address these issues in the future," he wrote.
On the topic of classroom material, like the safe place stickers and the teacher's rainbow lanyard, Tree wrote the following:
"Regarding LGBTQIA material/décor in the classroom, the law is clear that classroom material/décor is speech on behalf of the District. For that reason, the District does not allow classroom decor that is political in nature... The enforcement of this rule should in no way reflect that the Board or District does not support the rights of our LGBTQIA students."
Olsen says although something like a sticker may appear trivial, it can have a large impact on making a student feel comfortable.
"It might seem like something small, but the second a student walks into a classroom and they see a little sticker — they are like 'OK, this teacher gets me, and I have a safe place,' and now that's been removed," Olsen says.
In the letter sent to parents, the board president says he absolutely agrees that all children need to feel safe, loved, protected and valued.
