A Faux Military School Shreds The Constitution

“It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” - U.S. Supreme Court

In California, only schools “which operate in partnership with the California National Guard” are allowed to enforce “the minimum standards of conduct required by the Military”. This includes grooming standards, dress codes, and expectations of patriotic behavior.

While the North Valley Military Institute (NVMI) includes the word “military” in its name, the charter school has no affiliation with the California National Guard and is instead authorized by the Los Angeles Office of Education (LACOE). As a publicly funded school, it is bound by the California Ed Code, federal law, and the First Amendment. “Students do not forfeit their constitutional rights by enrolling in a charter school. Education Code sections 48907 and 48950 specifically state that charter school students retain their First Amendment protections.”

NVMI’s attempts to blur the lines between a charter school and an officially sanctioned military academy have caused tensions with its authorizer. Even as LACOE entered into negotiations in 2018 to overturn the LAUSD’s decision to reject the school’s charter renewal, questions were raised about provisions in the charter specifying that demerits would be issued to students for “failure/refusal to render appropriate honors to the nation.” To satisfy the concerns of the county, NVMI “agreed to eliminate this policy and practice” from the charter. The punishment was removed from the charter before the school was approved by the LACOE board.

On August 27, 2019, LACOE issued a Notice of Concern detailing a “violation of law and memorandum of understanding.” This letter stated that, despite the previous agreement “to protect students’ civil liberties [guaranteed by] the First Amendment of the Constitution,” NMVI continued to state a requirement that students “render appropriate honors to the nation” in their parent/student handbook. On two different occasions, LACOE staff brought this violation to the attention of NVMI administrators. Promises were made each time that corrections would be made to the handbook. In both cases, the school failed to follow through with these promises.

In a review of NVMI’s discipline logs, the County discovered that there were entries for students who had violated this illegal policy. These violations included “not [saluting] the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance.” NVMI insisted at the time “that it had eliminated this disciplinary policy and practice” and that the entries were a result of “data entry errors.”

When answering the county’s Notice of Concern, NVMI sang a different tune. Despite previous assurances that the illegal language would be removed, the school maintained that “the parties had agreed that NVMI could remove these demerits from its petition but keep them in the Parent/Cadet handbook.” LACOE responded that this was “erroneous and a misrepresentation of prior discussions between LACOE and NVMI” and that “there was never an agreement that NVMI could continue to discipline students on this basis despite the removal of the policy from the petition.”

While the illegal language was eventually removed from the handbook, LACOE appears to have lost interest in making sure that the charter school it chose to authorize over the objections of the LAUSD continues to respect the rights of its students. Instead of offering First Amendment protections as confirmed by the Supreme Court, the school’s current handbook states that incoming students are “ required to complete a series of performance tasks during entrance camp such as reciting the Pledge of Allegiance [and] singing the National Anthem”. Graduating from this camp is required to attend this publicly financed school.

Forced patriotism is just one questionable rule implemented by NVMI. Its specified Standards for Uniforms and Appearance has several entries that are problematic and need to be addressed by the regulators at LACOE.

“While dress codes may specify types of attire that are acceptable, these requirements should not differ based on students’ sex or their race.” Therefore, NVMI’s specification of different hairstyles that are acceptable for males and females is problematic. So is their specification that “female cadets may use an authorized plain black purse and may wear a black skirt of adopted design.”

The First Amendment guarantee to freely exercise one’s religion also appears to be violated by the charter school’s appearance standards. No exceptions are made for religions that regulate how hair can be cut. Piercings and tattoos are prohibited without excluding those whose religious practices may include them. Without exempting those whose religions require modesty, the school states that “cadets may be required to remove their PT [physical training] pants for physical fitness activities when the weather permits. Cadets refusing to do so will receive a failing grade for the day’s PE class.”

NVMI states that the reasoning for these rules is that “standards of personal appearance are integral to the successful operation of any military organization” and that a “cadet’s refusal to comply with established grooming and uniform regulations is regarded as an act of defiance.” What the school ignores is that respect for authority and the chain of command are also essential in a military organization. The school demands obedience from its students but refuses to follow the directions of the LACOE staff or the rules of the California Ed Code. If “acts of noncompliance are grounds for suspension and/or expulsion” for the NVMI student, shouldn’t the school be held to the same level of accountability for failure to comply with the authority of LACOE?

It should also be noted that the flag is a symbol of what our country stands for. A student’s failure to salute a flag shows disrespect for a piece of cloth. The wholesale dismissal of the rights afforded by our Constitution is a much greater dereliction of the responsibilities expected of an organization that is supposed to be grounded in patriotism.

NVMI built its charter on the idea that embracing a military culture would help at-risk students. Given that this type of culture demands respect for authority and adherence to the Constitution, NVMI is failing to properly establish itself as a proper example to its students. If NVMI cannot successfully complete the mission outlined in its charter, why is it still being allowed to operate?

Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He is an elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and serves as the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.