Redefining the Rocky Mountain ‘high’
Two Colorado school districts start the new year the wrong way
Photo credits: 1. Gadsden flag a free download via NicePNG.com. 2. Ian Taylor on Unsplash of the London Pride Parade.
Coloradans legalized marijuana in November 2011, but the Rocky Mountain “highs” came from more than weed in two different school districts last week.
They’re high on leftist ideology of “offensive speech” and transgender pronouns.
Jaiden Rodriguez, 12 of Colorado Springs, Colo., sported the Gadsden flag on his school backpack at The Vanguard School. He had a second patch for “Firearms Policy Coalition Official Member,” referring to a nonprofit focused on gun rights and related issues.
The Gadsden flag was so offensive to leaders at The Vanguard School, which is a classical education school, that Jaiden was pulled from classes. Jaiden and his mother had a meeting with an administrator who believed the Gadsden flag was connected to slavery.
The image of the coiled snake that reads, “Don’t Tread On Me,” was a flag that surfaced during the American Revolution, which was a message that the British should not trifle with the colonies.
The video of the meeting went viral, and within 24 hours The Vanguard School backed off and let Jaiden sport the Gadsden flag patch on his backpack.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis defended Jaiden on Twitter.
“The Gadsden flag is a proud symbol of the American revolution and an iconic warning to Britain or any government not to violate the liberties of Americans. It appears on popular American medallions and challenge coins through today and Ben Franklin also adopted it to symbolize the union of the 13 colonies. It’s a great teaching moment for a history lesson!” the governor wrote.
Just when it looked resolved with an epiphany on American history, one-size-fits-all policies and “offensive speech” took over.
Mike Claudio, assistant superintendent of Harrison School District Two, informed the Rodriguezes that Jaiden could sport the Gadsden flag as long as no one was offended by it. Jaiden is still prohibited from sporting the Firearms Policy Coalition patch because of the district’s blanket statement prohibiting clothing, patches, and other paraphernalia that “[r]efer to drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or weapons.”
That led to a letter from the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education to the school district on Thursday, Aug. 31.
“The First Amendment does not allow the ‘heckler’s veto’ as envisioned by the district’s assistant superintendent, where anybody can suppress a student’s speech or viewpoint simply by objecting to it.” FIRE communicated to the district.
And regarding the FPC patch, FIRE wrote: “The patch does not endorse unlawful activity or convey any threat, there is no evidence it has caused actual (or anticipated) substantial disruption of the school environment, nor is the mere fact that it depicts a firearm concrete evidence it will. As a federal appellate court said of a student’s T-shirt with the logo of a gun rights group that included an image of a handgun, Jaiden’s patch is ‘materially indistinguishable from the black armbands in Tinker’ in expressing a ‘political opinion, just like the armbands expressed the students’ opposition to the Vietnam War.’ ”
Hopefully, FIRE can resolve this for the Rodriguezes.
Meanwhile, in Jefferson County, Colo., just west of Denver, parents were given a clear indication in advance of the new school year that there would be no questions about preferred student transgender pronouns. The district instructed teachers that while it’s unknown if inquiring is illegal there are several lawsuits on the issue. Until the matter is cleared up, teachers are to avoid the issue.
The Jefferson County Education Association had other ideas: breaking Colorado and federal laws. A JCEA email to teachers states, “If you do a questionnaire, please make it a paper and pencil activity - any digital records are more permanent and may be requested under federal law."
Translation: make the necessary notes and get rid of the papers.
Denice Crawford, who has three children in the district, liked the district's approach. Then a son came home with a survey asking about his gender identity.
"Deceived, lied to, taken advantage of," Crawford told a CBS station that reported the scandal, noting it damages the relationship between parents and teachers.
The district now knows dozens of teachers disobeyed its plan and complied with the union, which because it violates state law could put the licensure of teachers in jeopardy.
The union, now doing damage control, said the district gave contradictory directions. According to a slide from the district it reads, "Please no preferred pronoun/gender identity questionnaire. Do not promise to keep information from parents."
That’s not exactly the way to start a school year, especially with parents sensitive to the LGBTQ alphabet madness.