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Portland Board Backs Resolution Allowing Immigration Discussions in Classrooms

Robbie Feinberg
/
Maine Public
Portland High Assistant Principal Kathie Marquis Girard speaks out in support of a resolution on free speech in front of the Portland Board of Public Education.

PORTLAND, Maine - Portland's Board of Education approved three resolutions Tuesday night that members hope will ease fears among students and teachers around immigration and politics.The resolutions say that the district will refuse to provide resources towards helping immigration officials identify any undocumented immigrants. The language also says that teachers can speak freely on political issues such as immigration in the classroom.

Board Member Jenna Vendil, who introduced the resolutions, says the sentiment was particularly important in the wake of an incident in late January where a 20-year-old white Portland man allegedly harassed four black Casco Bay High School students at a bus stop. Police characterized the attack as a hate crime.

Portland Superintendent Xavier Botana responded with an open letter to the community condemning the attacks, and students in the district’s three high schools organized after-school marches in support.

However, the Maine Republican Party criticized the district, saying it was concerned that students potentially used class time and public resources to organize the marches. In early February, the party filed a wide-ranging public records request for correspondence between administrators, teachers, legislators and political activists in the days leading up to the march.

Vendil says the resolution on teacher speech wasn’t inspired by that request. Instead, she says it came from teachers who were unsure what they were allowed to discuss in the classroom. Vendil says the board wants teachers to be encouraged to talk about controversial issues like immigration with their students.

“So if it doesn’t happen in the classroom, what other venue would we have it in?” Vendil says.

In a public hearing before last night’s board meeting, David Simpson, a teacher at Portland’s Lincoln Middle School, told officials that he felt conflicted about talking about politics during election season. But he said the new language provided clarity.

“It makes it so we’re not guessing,” Simpson said.

While approved, the resolutions aren’t firm policy. Portland Superintendent Xavier Botana told the board that he will now work with legal counsel to create or modify school policy to support the resolutions.