The Pittsburgh Public Schools board last week passed a resolution opposing what it called “harmful” legislation that has been introduced in the state.
The resolution, approved unanimously by the all-Democratic school board, accuses two bills in the House and two bills in the Senate entered by Republican lawmakers of impeding the ability for educators to provide for the needs of Black and LGBT students.
“Most of us believe that every child, no matter their background, deserves access to high-quality, age-appropriate education,” said board Vice President Devon Taliaferro, who introduced the resolution. “They deserve to accurately learn about our history, read books that represent their heritage or culture, and discover who they are and how they identify.”
But, according to the resolution, the proposed legislation would not allow the district to provide that to students.
The resolution said House Bill 1532 would ban teaching about the civil rights movement and “prohibits our educators from accurately teaching history, improperly bans anti-bias training, and would make culturally relevant teaching nearly impossible.” And House Bill 2813 intends to “censor, marginalize, exclude and discriminate” against LGBT students and families.
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 1277 “would compromise thorough, fact-based health education and erode trust between families and their child’s teacher,” and Senate Bill 1278 “further devalues our students and families of color and LGBTQ+ students and families.”
State lawmakers who introduced the bills said the legislation would protect students from inappropriate content and give parents more of a say in their child’s education.
However, the school board resolution calls the legislation “inconsistent” with the needs of students and would challenge the district’s ability to build a culture of belonging. It said the district “formally opposes and rejects any legislation that suppresses classroom discussion, promotes fear, intolerance, and hate, and devalues staff, students and families of color, and LGBTQ+ students, staff, and families.”
Board members also expressed concerns that the legislation could threaten the district’s ability to portions of its bullying and harassment and nondiscrimination policies.
“It’s absolutely shameful that in the year 2022, we are looking at such hatred against our children and people in general,” board member Sylvia Wilson said. “We should be so much further along than this.”
Board member Pam Harbin said that other school boards around the state are planning to pass similar resolutions. She also encouraged other school systems to adopt some of the Pittsburgh schools’ nondiscrimination policies that protect LGBT students.
“I just think that we’ve done a real good job, not just this board but over the years, of making sure that our policies reflect our values and how we want to care for all students,” she said. “I hope that other boards will follow suit and pass similar resolutions and policies.”
Andrew writes about education and more for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at agoldstein@unionprogress.com.