More than 800 Central Bucks alumni sign letter condemning alleged anti-LGBTQ bias: ‘We are horrified’

More than 800 alumni of the Central Bucks School District signed a letter to the district’s school board condemning actions they said had discriminated against LGBTQ students, along with reports of “rife” bullying inadequately addressed by the district.

“As proud alumni of the Central Bucks School District, we are horrified by the discriminatory and dangerous policies that you and some school administrators have implemented or allowed to happen in the district over the past year,” alumni said in the letter, which was sent to the school board Wednesday.

“Our schools must be a welcoming and nurturing environment for all students. Schools should also be a marketplace of ideas that challenge students to grow and flourish their intellect. But your recent actions dramatically undermine both of these goals.”

The letter cites a number of policies and allegations also contained in a federal complaint against the district by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania — a suspension of a teacher who tried to help a bullied student file a complaint; a requirement that teachers ignore students’ preferred names and pronouns without parental permission; a cancellation of in-person sex education classes after a nonbinary student sought to participate in a girls’ class; a ban on “sexualized content” in library books; and a policy prohibiting Pride flags and other “advocacy” in classrooms.

“A few board members should not be imposing their political views on thousands of students and teachers by telling them what they can and can’t read or talk about in class,” the letter said. It also took issue with the hiring of the Duane Morris law firm and former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain, saying he “criticized the mere existence of a middle school GSA” — a Gender-Sexuality Alliance — during his campaign for governor.

A district spokesperson did not respond Thursday afternoon to a request for comment.

Rotimi Adeoye, a 2014 graduate of the district who works for the ACLU in Washington, D.C., and helped organize the letter, said he was alarmed to hear about the anti-LGBTQ accusations, and saddened when he then read stories online about the district, including anecdotes from students about negative experiences.

“Seeing it just regress made us want to do something, stand up and make our voices clear,” said Adeoye, whose family immigrated from Nigeria and ended up in Central Bucks because of its reputation for good schools.

He said it took him and Christina Maida, a 2010 graduate, about a month to collect the signatures, which span decades of alumni dating back to 1959.

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The letter also includes a list of comments from many of the signers. Numerous read simply: “Do better.”

Others described how they had lost pride in having attended the district; some said they regretted having moved back to the community, and accused the board of pushing a dangerous political agenda.

“Inclusivity costs nothing and means everything to people who are already struggling to find their place in the world,” wrote one person who said they were a current social studies teacher with students who identify as non-binary and LGBTQ.

Another said: “You are ruining lives! You can’t possibly understand what it’s like to grow up queer unless you’ve done it.”

Adeoye said he hopes the board takes note of “the pain and frustration” in the letter’s comments.

“A lot of people are hoping to see change,” he said.