Central Bucks LGBTQ+ Students Rally Against Policy 321 In Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN, PA — More than 100 Central Bucks students and supporters rallied on Friday against Policy 321 outside of Central Bucks High School West.

“Students and residents from all around the community showed up. It was amazing,”
reported CB West student Zandi Hall, one of the student organizers. “And it made us feel good to see the support. No one wants this policy. And it felt really good to have that reinforced.”

Friday’s protest included speeches by students and anonymous teachers and chants against the recently approved policy and support for LGTBQ+ students who are being impacted by the policy changes.

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The student-led rally took place outside of West, the site of a town hall meeting organized by Superintendent Dr. Abe Lucabaugh to explain the policy to the district’s staff.

Lucabaugh organized three town hall meetings last week one at East, one at South and one at West to explain the policy to the district’s teaching staff.

The policy is aimed at bringing neutrality and balance to the classroom “in order to create an optimal learning environment and atmosphere of inclusiveness, where all students are welcome.”

The policy bans teachers from advocating their views or beliefs on partisan, political, or social policy matters in the classroom. “The district’s role is to teach students how to think, not what to think, thereby keeping classrooms as places of education, not indoctrination,” says the policy.

In addition, the policy bans employees from displaying any flag, banner, poster, sign, sticker, pin, button, insignia, paraphernalia, photograph, or other similar material that advocates any partisan, political, or social policy issue. That includes pride flags.

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There are exceptions. Employees are allowed to wear small pieces of jewelry, consistent with the professional dress code, that symbolically represent an individual’s personal beliefs.

Hall argues that the policy has nothing to do with creating balance in the classroom and has everything to do with targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

“They knew what they were doing when they wrote the policy,” said Hall. “It is designed to harm LGTBQ+ students. We’re going to continue to fight to have it overturned.”

LGTBQ+ students have attended board meeting and have spoken out against the policy online and at protests.

“There has been absolutely no communication to us from their end, not even an acknowledgement that they hear us, but they’re going in a different direction,” said Hall of the school board.

“I don’t believe it was intended to be neutral. I think it was intended to silence teachers and to hurt students,” continued Hall. “There’s no way a classroom can ever be neutral. And anyone who thinks it can be is foolish.”

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By removing pride flags and other symbols of inclusiveness from the classroom, LGTBQ+ students said they no longer know where they can find a safe harbor in what can sometimes be an unforgiving environment for students who are different.

“Seeing that pride flag tells the student this teacher is not going to put up with any bullying,” said Hall. “If I’m being bullied I know I can go to them and they will help me. Now they don’t know who they can go to. And if they do go to a teacher, they don’t want to get that teacher in trouble. And if the teacher wants to help the student they could risk losing their job.”

The student-led protest followed on the heels of a teacher-led protest, which took place earlier in the week at the Holicong Middle School and at Central Bucks East High School.

“I love that they don’t want the policy just as much as we do and that they want to support their students,” said Hall of the teachers.

“The most harmful part of this is that it was specifically designed to target the LGTBQ+ community. The sad part about this whole thing is that they purposely want to hurt their own students,” said Hall.

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