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On Wednesday, students at the MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas performed a walkout after the school allegedly engaged in "targeted discrimination" against LGBT+ children and teachers.
Students marched out of their classrooms wearing rainbow hearts that had previously been used to mark safe spaces in the school. Only a few weeks prior, those stickers had been removed without warning.
Rachel Stonecipher is an English teacher and sponsor of the campus' Gay Straight Alliance. She kept the stickers on her door as one of the few openly lesbian teachers in the school.
Stonecipher told DFW News:
"I was freaked. The kids were freaked out."
"I was a little scared too because I'm the only openly, very obviously gay teacher, lesbian teacher."
Stonecipher was one of many teachers looking for answers from the school administration.
A memo was sent to staff by the principal:
"We want to send a different tone this year."
"The district's position is that our responsibility is to make campuses a safe zone for all students, not just in our classrooms, but on every inch of our campus."
"To ensure that all students feel safe regardless of background or identity, the district has developed guidelines to ensure that posters, banners and stickers placed in classrooms, hallways or offices are curriculum driven and neutral in viewpoint."
It also said teachers need to keep their personal opinions on their personal time, essentially claiming the safe space for LGBTQ+ students stickers are political or sectarian.
Below is Irving ISD\u2019s official statement regarding the protest at MacArthur High School today.pic.twitter.com/9zFau8lDuZ— Irving ISD (@Irving ISD) 1632351960
A spokesperson told CBS11 the policy states:
"Teachers shall not use the classroom to transmit personal beliefs regarding political or sectarian issues."
Students had previously gone to the school board to express their concerns about removing the stickers. It was a way students knew who they could turn to for help.
Tensions grew after several students who were previously known to attend the Gay Straight Alliance meetings were "randomly" questioned by administration.
Sophomore Alyssa Harbin described to board members she sat at the head of a table for a 45 minute interview that felt more like a "long, drawn out interrogation."
She said:
"All of these randomly selected people have been to at least one Gay Straight Alliance meeting making it feel extremely targeted."
Stonecipher was escorted off campus last week.
Junior Breanna Belvin told trustees:
"GSA students are also extremely concerned for one of our sponsors, Ms. Stonecipher."
Students have gotten an outpouring of support on social media, calling out the board and everyone enforcing this "neutrality" policy.
I\u2019m trying to figure out how this purported neutrality aligns with the school board which began Monday\u2019s board meeting with a Christian invocation and wrapped with the president proudly representing that he was encouraged that all of his board were guided by prayer.— The Good Jared (@The Good Jared) 1632373590
I'd check yourselves. It was a pretty large group of students expressing rather loudly that they do not feel safe... A generic statement isn't likely to help that problem.— Stephanie Henderson (@Stephanie Henderson) 1632352372
A "neutral space" does not equate to a "safe space" for students. By removing symbols of solidarity, you are sending the message that LGBTQIA students, ideas, and perspectives are not welcome in the school. \n\nYou are asking them to leave a crucial part of their identity at home.— Sophia Kwong Myers (@Sophia Kwong Myers) 1632361165
Treating our LGBTQ.. communities like they are a biased point of view is inherently taking a homophobic point of view. Because straight is considered the \u201cdefault\u201d, preventing queer expression isn\u2019t neutral, but discriminatory and hateful.— Christian Ritchie (@Christian Ritchie) 1632359598
I am unable to locate this policy on the board website. Based on the statement I find it hard to accept that hearts or circles in the color of the rainbow are anything other than neutral in and of themselves. Only Interpretation makes them mean something. Didn't have to come— Dr Theresa Patton (she/her) \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0fally (@Dr Theresa Patton (she/her) \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0fally) 1632353210
Finally found the policy they reference but it is likely what's being used in reference to the teachers that are on admin leave, but doesn't speak to the origin of the matter, the stickers and the district policy regarding decorations. That I still can't find anywhere.— Dr Theresa Patton (she/her) \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0fally (@Dr Theresa Patton (she/her) \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0fally) 1632380781
The problem is that last school year and the previous ones there never was a problem with anything and this year this new principal goes in and all of a sudden there is a problem.— susan Luera (@susan Luera) 1632360890
If you want to stand by these words then maybe you shouldn't force all your teachers to listen to the very religious public speakers you hire for convocation every year. The non-christian teachers really hate being forced to listen to you and the superintendent talk about God.— Nunnya (@Nunnya) 1632356431
So why are you interrogating the queer students? Why did you remove people they felt safe around? Why did you literally make it an unsafe space for them?— John\u2019s Laughter (@John\u2019s Laughter) 1632443255
ISD woke up today and chose ignorance— klaus future (@klaus future) 1632429869
The ONLY way a rainbow sticker could be viewed as "political" is if you are against gay rights.\n\nEveryone else sees it simply showing support for a historically marginalized community.\n\nCheck yourselves.— Dingo (@Dingo) 1632368442
Belvin said Stonecipher has not been seen at school since she was removed from class last week by administrators.
No one in administration nor Stonecipher could comment on her employment status or being removed from campus.
She did send a message to all those holding signs with her name on it at the protest:
"I'm fine. The kids don't need to be concerned about me."
"Look, this job is way too hard, way too hard to be a teacher for us not to be here because we care."
Stonecipher said, stickers or not, there are teachers at MacArthur High School that will always be allies to the LGBTQ+ students.
According to Irving Weekly, two teachers who refused to take down their safe space stickers were disciplined by the principal for taking a stand. Students became very upset after learning about this.
Irving ISD provided a statement about the walkout:
"Irving ISD is aware of the walkout protest that is currently taking place at MacArthur High School. All students are safe."
Several protests against anti-LGBTQ+ policies have been cropping up across the country. Students and teachers alike have been standing up against discrimination towards LGBTQ+ community members.
A California Catholic high school threatened outing a gay student to her parents. 200 students protested outside Bishop Amat Memorial High School for forcing disciplinary meetings and counseling and barring the gay student from sitting next to her girlfriend at lunch.
In August, around 50 students at Valor Christian High School walked out to show support for LGBTQ students and to tell administration they will not tolerate bigotry or discrimination. A volleyball coach was allegedly forced to resign after school officials learned of his sexuality.
A peaceful protest was formed at the Niles New Tech school in Michigan after the school did next to nothing after an LGBTQ+ student was bullied and told to kill themselves. One student said ever since they came to the school they had homophobic slurs thrown their way and they demanded the school put a stop to it.
A protest for the suspension of a teacher who came out as bisexual happened earlier this month at Winterset High School in Iowa. Students launched a petition which currently has over 4,000 signatures. Their goal is 5,000 signatures.
Thanks to the power of social media, it's become increasingly harder for schools to hide their anti-LGBTQ+ policies and the lawsuits they will fight to the bitter end at a huge cost to taxpayers or private school budgets.
Meanwhile, not being homophobic or transphobic is free.