BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. – The Bedford County School Board is slated to vote on a policy that outlines how controversial issues should be addressed in the classroom on Thursday.
The policy was presented to the board on April 6 and strives to determine how students should be taught when it comes to political and controversial issues. The main goal is to create a learning environment that is void of bias, prejudice or coercion, a draft document of the policy said.
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Under the policy, teachers will be prohibited from having discussions with students about their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Textbooks and other instructional materials that discuss the “historical oppression of a particular group of people based on race, ethnicity, religion, disability status, or sex as well as based on class, nationality, geographic region and/or other differences” will not be prohibited.
The ACLU of Virginia doesn’t support the policy, saying “The policy is so broad as to be unenforceable – for example, the way it prohibits any discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity could be interpreted to mean that a teacher couldn’t answer a student’s question about a photo of their spouse on their desk. That uncertainty will hit LGBTQ+ teachers – and those who support LGBTQ+ students – the hardest.”
The ACLU also sent a letter to the Bedford County School Board expressing their concerns.
A document containing a full breakdown of the policy can be found below:
