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The Mohonasen Central School District updated its dress code and harassment sections of its code of conduct policy after the school board discussed complaints about students wearing clothing that shows the Confederate flag.
Mohonasen High School principal Craig Chandler emailed students and families about the change on Wednesday.
The letter says:
“Dear students, parents and guardians,
At Monday night’s school board meeting, the code of conduct was updated to include the following language in the Dress Code and Harassment sections. These sections now include the following language:
“Symbols that disrupt the learning environment, contain discriminatory language or images, are known to promote hateful or violent conduct or contain threats are prohibited and will not be tolerated in our schools and / or premises. These symbols include, but are not limited to, Nazi swastikas, Ku Klux Klan hoods, and Confederate flags. These changes take effect immediately.
The school board voted unanimously on Monday for the change.
Chairman of the board, Wade Abbott, said resolving this issue has taken time due to the controversy surrounding the ban on the Confederate flag and other similar symbols.
“For me personally, it was not an easy and straightforward decision to just ban a symbol,†he said. “And while I don’t like that particular symbol, my concern is whether we’re going to take any action that might lead to unintended consequences that could impact people from any perspective at the to come up ?”
No other board member commented on the change.
There have been a number of complaints about the Confederate flag symbol since September, many of them involving the high school, Superintendent Shannon Shine said.
Before the vote, Reverend Nicolle Harris of the Schenectady Chapter of the NAACP addressed the Board of Directors.
“I don’t want to receive further calls from parents and students who are uncomfortable walking the halls of this building,†she said.
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Categories: News, Schenectady County
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