The Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) board meeting on September 19 erupted in chaos after CVUSD Board of Education President Sonja Shaw introduced a new version of the “No Deception” policy, which broadens the scope of parental notification requirements and continues what many interpret as “forced-outing” within CVUSD. Many community members spoke out against the implementation of the policy during the meeting, but they were met with opposition some considered a violation of their First Amendment rights.
President Shaw first introduced the “No Deception” policy during the board meeting on September 5 and has since made changes before reintroducing it again on September 19. The new policy states that “All communications with parents and guardians will be truthful, accurate, and complete. Staff shall provide all relevant information when it pertains to the health, safety, and education of their child. Withholding information or providing partial information that may mislead or create a false understanding is strictly prohibited.”
During the board meeting, current CVUSD teacher Mrs. Natalie Cooney expressed her concerns about how the policy would impact LGBTQ+ students on campus, but she was quickly interrupted by President Shaw who stated that her speech was not “germane.” Cooney then resumed her speech and was given a thumbs-up for approval by CVUSD Superintendent Dr. Norm Enfield after specifying her concerns over the broadness of the language in the policy. Sixteen seconds after Dr. Enfield’s approval of Cooney’s clarification, Cooney’s turn was ended by President Shaw for still being too “broad,” even though she had one minute and eight seconds left to speak.
There are no current board policies that specifically state the requirement that speakers only address the language on information items during board meetings.
The Bulldog Times reached out to both President Shaw and Superintendent Dr. Enfield to comment, but neither responded.
“I thought this is for sure a First Amendment violation. [President Shaw] is not allowing a teacher to speak and share her concerns about a policy and share the impact these policies have,” Kristi Hirst, founder of Our Schools USA and board meeting speaker, said. “I was just taken back and disheartened.”
After Cooney spoke, former CVUSD student Madison Kaylor introduced her name and her former position in the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, but she was also immediately interrupted and shut down by President Shaw who stated that Kaylor needed to address “specific concerns.”
“I truly was shocked because it’s one thing to interrupt a teacher because we knew that was gonna happen, but it’s another thing to silence the very students that [President Shaw] claims to be fighting for,” Mrs. Jacqueline Cortes, CVUSD special education math teacher at Don Lugo and board meeting speaker, said. “She says she’s here to protect students, but she won’t even let students speak.”
Under the orders of President Shaw, all those in attendance, except the school board, were cleared out of the meeting after Kaylor’s turn. Cortes, who was supposed to be the fourth speaker on the “No Deception” Policy, was not given the opportunity to voice her thoughts.
“I had every right to speak. The fact that I was robbed of my time is not okay because now I have to wait a month to speak again,” Cortes said. “We should have a right to be able to express ourselves just like [President Shaw has] been allowed to express herself.”
Many CVUSD parents, faculty, and students feel the importance to continue speaking out against the “No Deception” policy because, if approved, the board would be violating the SAFETY Act, which prohibits school employees from disclosing information regarding students’ LGBTQ+ identity to parents without the child’s consent. Community members view the lack of specificity in the policy as another way for President Shaw to quietly maintain potentially discriminatory parental notification policies in the district.
“I think that [the ‘No Deception’ policy is] so broad that it’s almost a joke,” Hirst said. “It’s breaking down relationships between families, schools, parents, and teachers, and that is destructive to our school district overall.”
In addition to concerns about the safety of LGBTQ+ students, many teachers also worry about how the policy will change their roles as educators.
“In my mind, I was like, does that mean if you sneeze, I have to call your parents?” Cortes said. “A parent should be informing me, not vice versa. Who knows a child better than their parents? It should not be the teacher. If it’s the teacher, there’s a problem.”
CVUSD’s next board meeting is on October 17 and many are expecting President Shaw to introduce the “No Deception” policy as an action item for board members to officially vote on it for implementation. However, opponents of the policy say that the actions at the last board meeting has made them even more passionate about voicing their opinions against it.
“I will continue to advocate and use my voice to fight for the rights of the students in this district,” Kaylor said. “No one deserves to feel unsafe to be their true authentic self.”
