By Lorraine Gabbert. San Jose Spotlight.
San Jose officials are standing with LGBTQ+ communities against discriminatory organizations that cause conflict in local schools.
Council members Pam Foley and Omar Torres drafted a resolution supporting LGBTQ+ students in reaction to Informed Parents of Silicon Valley's efforts to ban books with LGBTQ+ themes and encourage parents to opt out of school curriculum LGBTQ+ support.
The resolution will be presented at the Oct. 24 San José City Council meeting for a vote.
Foley said hate speech and misinformation are unacceptable and the city must take a stand.
“The accusations portrayed in these groups' distribution (of information) are erroneous and desperately misrepresent what is happening in our schools,” Foley told San José Spotlight.
The resolution says Informed Parents of Silicon Valley is trying to prevent schools from carrying books or teaching curricula on gender identity and LGBTQ+ families, as well as social and emotional health and racial justice. It refers to an incident that occurred on September 1 when members distributed literature at local schools, including Bagby Elementary School in the Cambrian School District.
Bagby Elementary School parent Maria Noel Fernandez said Informed Parents of Silicon Valley confronted her with incendiary bookmarks on Sept. 1 while taking her son to school.
“The informed parents of Silicon Valley and their partner, the Values Advocacy Council (which defends Judeo-Christian values on public policy issues), have a history of harassing not only the LGBTQ+ community and communities of color,” he told San José Spotlight, “but our children and parents, through a specific campaign focused on instilling hate in our schools, the only place where every child and family should feel safe.”
In a letter to the city council, Informed Parents of Silicon Valley said the resolution violates the city's code of ethics by “touting demonstrably dishonest claims about us, allowing partisan bigotry to override basic justice, and creating an environment that would restrict basic First Amendment rights of citizens.”
The group also threatened to sue the city. Informed Parents of Silicon Valley said the resolution is not responsible, fair, honest or open and elected officials are spreading misinformation about it.
“It is vital to note that no legal finding has ever determined whether any Informed Parents volunteer harassed anyone,” the group said in its letter to council members. “All we want is for parents to be able to exercise their right to opt out of curriculum they believe is inappropriate for their children, a right enshrined in the California Education Code.”
Informed Parents of Silicon Valley did not respond to requests for comment.
Foley said his office was told that members of Informed Parents of Silicon Valley distributed literature in the San Jose and Franklin-McKinley unified school districts urging parents to remove students from curriculum intended to increase acceptance and understanding of LGBTQ+ children and families.
Members of the group distributed leaflets before the Franklin McKinley School District board meeting on Sept. 26 and attended the meeting to protest the censure of board member Marc Cooper.
Foley pointed out that Informed Parents of Silicon Valley misrepresents reality. He said the isolation and marginalization of the LGBTQ+ community puts students at risk. The group said it is not anti-LGBTQ+ and denied harassing parents in schools on the specific date mentioned in the resolution.
Foley noted that she hopes the council will take action after making sure the resolution is based on a solid legal foundation, and she believes it is.
“The attached resolution reaffirms that the city of San José is a welcoming and supportive place for the LGBTQ+ community,” she and Torres said in the resolution, “and makes clear that hate and efforts to marginalize LGBTQ+ people have no place in our city. “
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, ayou administeredred by the CaliFornia State Library.
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