SPOKANE, Wash.- The Central Valley School District Board of Directors is against a bill which would prevent local school boards from banning books and a separate policy which would require students to learn about LBGTQ+ history.
In a Feb. 20 statement drafted during a special board meeting, Board President Pam Orebaugh led district leadership in drafting a resolution against SB 5462 and HB 2331.
The Senate bill would include LBGTQ+ issues in state history standards under the guidance of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The House policy would ban public school districts from restricting educational materials if such limits were imposed with discriminatory intentions.
The statement, which was written and signed by Orebaugh, argued that such decisions should not occur in state government.
“In accordance with the law, decisions regarding curriculum and education should be made at the local level,” Orebaugh wrote.
The board president was elected in 2021 after running a conservative campaign including opposition to COVID-19 safety measures and skepticism toward secular educational standards. The school board articulates her platform on the district website.
“She…believes in our US Constitution and is guided by Biblical values,” the website states.
Board Vice President Teresa Landa argued that while the policies before the Washington Legislature had positive intentions, they constituted an unnecessary step which would obstruct the district from its current work to include students.
“We have what we need. We don’t need oversight, we don’t need legislation,” Landa said.
Both bills were approved by majorities in the Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education on Feb. 19 and are currently before the Senate Rules Committee.
