The Gresham-Barlow School District (GBSD) in Oregon will vote on whether to change its flag display policy on May 27, pending legal review by the Oregon School Boards Association. If approved, all schools in this district in a suburb of Portland could display a Black Lives Matter (BLM) flag and a Progressive Pride flag, on school grounds and in all classrooms, along with the statutorily required American flag, Oregon flag, and POW/MIA flag.
In addition to the flags, the GBSD board will vote on whether to expand its policies to give all students the time to recite a land declaration and sing the Black National Anthem, adding to state statute that requires schools to provide a weekly opportunity to recite the pledge of allegiance and learning the national anthem. It also voted to use an “equity lens” when naming or renaming facilities.
Many know the BLM flag and the radical organization it stands for. For those unfamiliar with the Progressive Pride flag, it’s not merely a statement of political support, as the name implies. It’s an updated LGBTQ+ flag that includes several new stripes supporting trans people, those transitioning or non-binary, people of color, and those afflicted with AIDS. A Portland artist used Kickstarter to raise funds for his redesign of the familiar rainbow flag to include more stripes for more marginalized people. He described his intentions by saying,
Background: LGBTQ 6 full sized color stripes representing life (red), healing (orange), sunlight (yellow), nature (green), harmony/peace (blue), and spirit (purple/violet) Hoist: 5 half sized stripes representing trans individuals (light blue, light pink, white), marginalized POC communities (brown, black), as well as those living with AIDS, those no longer living, and the stigma surrounding them (black).
The news of the policy changes came as a surprise to many parents. One shared a letter on social media that her child brought home, detailing the changes.
The old policy, adopted in 2002 and updated in 2014, reads:
A United States flag and an Oregon flag shall be displayed on or near each school building under the control of the Board or used by the district, during school hours, except in unsuitable weather and at other times the Board deems proper.The district shall obtain and display a United States flag of an appropriate size for each classroom.Students shall receive instruction in respect for the national flag, and be provided an opportunity to salute the United States flag at least once each week by reciting The Pledge of Allegiance.A flag salute may be implemented at assemblies, before or after school, at lunch, special events, home room class, athletic contests or at other times deemed appropriate by the principal. Individual staff members and students who do not participate in the salute must maintain a respectful silence during the salute.
The new policy states (changes underlined):
A United States flag, and an Oregon flag, a National League of Families’ POW/MIA flag, a progressive pride flag, and a Black Lives Matter flag shall be displayed on or near each school building under the control of the Board or used by the district, during school hours, except in unsuitable weather and at other times the Board deems proper.The district shall obtain and display a United States flag, an Oregon flag, a National League of Families’ POW/MIA flag, a progressive pride flag, and a Black Lives Matter flag of an appropriate size for each classroom.Students shall receive instruction in respect for the national flag, and be provided an opportunity to salute the United States flag at least once each week by reciting The Pledge of Allegiance. They will also receive instruction on native land acknowledgements and have the opportunity to recite it at least once each week. Students shall learn the United States national anthem and the Black national anthem Lift Every Voice and Sing.A flag salute may be implemented at assemblies, before or after school, at lunch, special events, home room class, athletic contests or at other times deemed appropriate by the principal. Individual staff members and students who do not participate in the salute must maintain a respectful silence during the salute.
Land acknowledgements are statements that work to undo American colonialism by stating that the organization knows it is on land or territory previously claimed by Native Americans, and in some cases states explicitly that the land was illegitimately acquired or stolen from tribes that previously occupied the land.
The new facility naming policy reads (changes underlined):
The Board shall be responsible for naming any building, site or other facility which is the property of the district.In considering names for facilities, the board will use an equity framework and give preference will be given to names associated with the community. Names of historical persons, places and events may be considered. Names of living persons will not be considered.Pursuant to OAR 581.021.0047, facilities will not use names associated with or significant to a Native American Tribe unless the school district enters into an approved written agreements with that federally recognized Native American Tribe in Oregon.Recommendations from parent groups, students and residents of the district will be considered.The superintendent will, upon request of the Board, prepare a list of possible names for new facilities. The Board may establish a committee for screening, reviewing and suggesting names.
The proposal awaits review by the Oregon School Boards Association and a final vote by and a final vote by a GBSD work committee. The ODE previously opined that BLM does not violate the Hatch Act because it does not represent a political viewpoint. An organization called Liberty in Education responded:
The ODE Black Lives Matter Resolution states:
WHEREAS, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel issued an advisory opinion that it is not a violation of the Hatch Act for federal employees to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement and the Black Lives Matter Global Network while on duty, including wearing or displaying materials related to the cause, because they address issues such as racism, which are not inherently aligned with a single political party and do not meet any criteria for a “partisan political group”.
If the statement “Black Lives Matter” is nonpartisan and teachers are supported in wearing BLM gear, are they also supported in wearing other slogans such as “Blue Lives Matter” or “All Lives Matter”? If BLM is a statement not representing a political agenda, then other slogans should also be acceptable. However, in ODE’s “Training Toolkit” released with the Resolution, a teacher discusses how she handled a student saying “All Lives Matter” in one of the virtual classrooms. The student then wrote an apology letter.
These new policies represent a radical shift that may come to more Portland-area school districts.
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Jeff Reynolds is the author of the book, “Behind the Curtain: Inside the Network of Progressive Billionaires and Their Campaign to Undermine Democracy,” available at www.WhoOwnsTheDems.com. Jeff hosts a podcast at anchor.fm/BehindTheCurtain. You can follow him on Twitter @ChargerJeff, on Parler at @RealJeffReynolds, and on Gab at @RealJeffReynolds.
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