Taylor school officials said input from parents, students, and staff on creating a policy on the display of quasi-political symbols would be would be sought, and that action is now underway.
Starting Sept.29, a survey was made available for each of those groups within the district seeking their thoughts.
“We are asking members of our community to provide input on whether they support or do not support quasi-political symbols on school grounds,” a message to each targeted group said from the school district on social media. “Quasi-political symbols include symbols that in their inception are not political in nature but have become politicized through discourse in American society. Some examples would be but are not limited to: rainbow flags, Black Lives Matter flags, Blue Lives Matters flags, the Gadsden Flag (Don’t Tread on Me), etc.”
School Superintendent Michael Wegher said he wants to make sure the district’s spaces are natural.
“The best way to do that is to go get the feedback,” Wegher said. “The goal is transparency and we need to get input. The survey is for our stakeholders.”
The deadline is Oct. 7. Wegher doesn’t expect to have a policy constructed for the district perhaps by the end of the year.
The superintendent’s office put the survey together and eventually results will be brought before the policy committee, where there will be recommendations for changes.
Wegher said It is important to note that this survey is not a vote on whether quasi-political symbols will or will not be allowed.
Instead, the information gathered will serve as valuable data to help the district better understand the views of the community as the policy is being crafted.
Although there are three surveys directed at students, staff and parents, they are primarily the same, but must be filled out by the appropriate party.
Some of the questions include:
• Do you believe schools should allow the display of symbols related to social or political movements on school grounds (e.g. flags, posters, stickers)?
• Should teachers and staff be permitted to display quasi-political symbols in classrooms or personal workspaces that are visible to students?
• To what extent do you think such displays influence the learning environment?
• Should the school district itself (as an institution) be permitted to display quasi-political symbols on school grounds (e.g. in lobbies, auditoriums, gyms, flagpoles)?
• If quasi-political symbols are allowed should the district require all perspectives to have equal opportunity for display?
There are multiple responses to choose from to answer the question.
The initial controversy arose several weeks ago when Shelby Desimpelaere, a ninth- and 10th-grade English teacher at the school, promoted a supportive and inclusive atmosphere in her classroom by hanging various flags.
Those flags said, “love is love,” “science is real,” “Black Lives Matter,” and no human is illegal.
There also was a Taylor Swift banner that said, “United We Stand.”
The flags had been on display in her classroom for four years without question until it was recently made an issue on social media.
