In preparation for President-elect Donald Trump’s return, the Los Angeles Board of Education reaffirms the nation’s second-largest school system as a sanctuary for immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community and proposes new high school courses that delve into current political events We are moving quickly to do so. .
These efforts will be presented at Tuesday’s school board meeting as four emergency resolutions proposed by Board President Jackie Goldberg during her last regular public board meeting before her retirement.
“We’re not going to run away in fear,” she said of President Trump. “We’re going to fight you from every angle.”
“This is my farewell photo,” she said.
One of the resolutions aims, as its title suggests, to “reaffirm our commitment to immigrant students, families, and staff,” and also “reaffirms our commitment to immigrant students, families, and staff,” and also “reaffirms our commitment to immigrant students, families, and staff,” and to “reaffirm our commitment to immigrant students, families, and staff,” and to “reaffirm our commitment to immigrant students, families, and staff,” and to “reaffirm our commitment to immigrant students, families, and staff,” and to “reaffirm our commitment to immigrant students, families, and staff.” It also aims to update the district’s existing policy of “enforcing respectful treatment.”
The resolution states that the 2024 presidential election will result in “the election of a candidate who campaigned on an anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ agenda.”
President Trump has made mass deportation of illegal immigrants one of his top priorities, accusing immigrants of increasing crime and taking jobs away from Americans. In a social media post on Monday, he confirmed reports that he would order the military to engage in deportations as part of a declared national emergency.
Public schools are required by federal law to enroll students within their jurisdiction, and California does not allow school officials to ask questions about students’ immigration status. Many families have mixed immigration status, with some family members legally in the United States and others not.
The resolution cites the “documented rise in anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the United States,” and says “these discourses divide communities, increase risk factors, and undermine mental health and school engagement.” states.
The resolution notes that LGBTQ+ students are already explicitly protected by the district’s anti-discrimination policy, but the resolution extends those protections to students’ families as well as employees and their families. I will do it.
“Lesbian and gay kids, transgender kids and non-binary kids are going to hear so much badmouthing throughout society,” Goldberg said. “And I just want them to know that we support them. We have the backing of their parents. We have the support of their teachers. I We have cafeteria workers, for us. We have all the people who work and work with us, and all the children and their families. We can’t necessarily stop the bigots from being what they are, but we can’t necessarily stop the bigots from being what they are, but if you’re alone and confront them. I’m not going to allow that.”
Under the banner of parental rights, President Trump wants to repeal school board policies that limit the ability of school officials to notify parents if their child changes gender identity or pronouns at school.
President Trump recently expressed strong support for this view of parental rights at a conference hosted by the conservative group Moms for Liberty.
“I don’t think some of the people on the board really like kids,” he said at the meeting. “We have to give that right back to the parents.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill in July that protects teachers from retaliation for supporting the rights of transgender students and banning “forced disclosure” rules in K-12 schools.
Goldberg’s second resolution concerns the protection of immigrants. In addition to reaffirming existing policies, the statement also targeted President Trump, saying, “The previous administration instituted a brutal policy of separating immigrant families, leaving thousands of immigrant children and parents without recourse.” “A candidate who has caused no damage.”
President Trump has defended his policy of separating immigrant children from their parents, arguing that it is an effective deterrent to immigration.
The school system similarly declared schools sanctuaries in 2017, early in the Trump administration’s first term, establishing L.A. Unified as a “safe haven for families threatened by immigration enforcement.” An earlier resolution prohibited school district employees from “voluntarily cooperating with any immigration enforcement action, including sharing information regarding the immigration status of students or families with immigration officials.”
The new resolution would direct LA Unified Supt. Within 60 days, Alberto Carvalho said, “all teachers, The plan includes “training for administrators and other staff.” It requires access to school grounds and a thorough effort to communicate the district’s safeguarding policies and plans to all families in the district in the language they speak. ”
Approximately one in five students is thought to be learning English. Many of them are immigrants, but not necessarily in the country illegally.
The third Goldberg resolution takes aim at the education component of Project 2025, the think tank’s initiative that set policy goals for the second Trump administration. When it comes to education, there is a strong, but not perfect, agreement between Project 2025 and President Trump’s education statements.
Project 2025 emphasizes giving parents the right to use a portion of their public education funds to subsidize private school tuition, a goal Trump supported in his first administration. The policy framework also calls for a “rejection of gender ideology and critical race theory.” Supporters say they want to remove liberal politics and indoctrination from the classroom.
Critics see the proposed policy as an attempt to whitewash history, limit diverse perspectives and silence discussion of controversial topics.
The Goldberg resolution pledges to “do everything in our power to protect and protect our students, families, and staff from the harms intended by Project 2025, and to protect the rights of all students to receive a public education.”
Under the resolution, Carvalho will have 60 days to report a report that includes “a comprehensive summary of Project 2025 policies impacting public education and public school students, families, and staff, as well as a detailed summary of the district’s defense plan.” I plan to submit a document. Public education and the students, families, and staff we serve. ”
Goldberg’s fourth resolution focuses on recent widespread efforts to remove discussion of controversial subjects and current events from the classroom.
The resolution states that to make students “world ready,” they must “become critical thinkers, understand current events, and understand how events affect politics.” You will be able to understand, see the effects of specific policy proposals, and understand all sides of major political issues.”
Additionally, “In an increasingly fragmented information environment where misinformation, polarization and questionable sources are rampant, it is the responsibility of school districts to educate students to distinguish between news and opinion.”
In Britain and France, he said, “we start having so-called political education from the upper grades of elementary school to high school, and in my opinion, their children have a better understanding of what’s going on in modern political issues.” . ”
One example is, “What can President Trump actually do? What is it that he says he can do that he actually can’t do?”
Mr. Carvalho must report within 160 days on the “feasibility of establishing a contemporary political issues course” at the high school level and whether it would be required for graduation.
The staff analysis asked, “What qualifications and professional development will the district need to have the workforce to implement this new course, and what grade level is most appropriate for students to take this course?” “is also applicable.
Also considered are necessary changes to the curriculum at all grade levels to prepare students for high school coursework in this area.
