O'FALLON, Mo. — Late Thursday night, the Francis Howell Board of Education approved a controversial policy update that’s not sitting well with many in their community. It includes allowing hate speech in educational materials.
The Francis Howell School District had a policy in place banning educational materials with hate speech, false science and false historical claims. The board voted Thursday to reverse that ban, citing advice from legal counsel.
"I think the racism and the transphobia you all are doing, it's awful,” one parent told the board.
“It doesn’t serve the students,” another speaker said during public comment.
Board member Randy Cook proposed the change, saying students should be exposed to “a wide variety of viewpoints.” There was pushback during public comments before the vote.
Board member Steven Blair was against making this change, saying he doesn’t want students to be misinformed.
The move comes as Francis Howell has a new book ban in place that prevents students from reading books with references to alcohol or drug use, sex or ongoing profanity.