Central Bucks to hire powerhouse Philly legal team to review ACLU complaint

Chris Ullery, Bucks County Courier Times
·4 min read
2

Central Bucks School District officials are expected to vote Tuesday night to hire a former U.S. Attorney and a federal prosecutor to review a discrimination complaint filed by the ACLU of Pennsylvania early last month.

School board President Dana Hunter in a statement Monday afternoon called the ACLU's complaint that alleges the district has created a "toxic" environment for LGBTQ students a political attack. The board's Nov. 15 agenda now includes an action item to hire the Philadelphia-based Duane Morris law firm.

Hunter said the legal team would consist of Bill McSwain, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania who ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination this year, and Michael Rinaldi, former Deputy Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit, also in the Eastern District.

A large crowd gathered outside the Central Bucks School District administrative building at 16 Welden Drive in July before a board vote on a controversial library policy. The school board will vote Tuesday to hire a law firm to investigate a complaint federal filed by the ACLU of PA last month.
A large crowd gathered outside the Central Bucks School District administrative building at 16 Welden Drive in July before a board vote on a controversial library policy. The school board will vote Tuesday to hire a law firm to investigate a complaint federal filed by the ACLU of PA last month.

The ACLU filed its 72-page complaint on behalf of seven students on Oct. 5 to the federal departments of Education and Justice claiming a pattern of policies and practices have exacerbated hostilities toward LGBTQ students and staff members who support them. The ACLU redacted the names of students in the complaint to protect their identities.

The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights issued a letter on Oct. 21 indicating it would be the agency to follow through in investigating the complaint, the first steps in a review that would include "a variety of fact-finding techniques."

Hunter reiterated Monday that a request for the unredacted copy of the complaint to the ACLU remains unanswered and called the investigation a political ploy.

School board questions ACLU complaint:Central Bucks moves to restrict teachers, casts doubt on harassment claims

"When announcing the ACLU’s complaint in a video posted to its Twitter page, ACLU Legal Director, Witold Walczak, said, 'in November 2021, the School Board was captured by extremists.' Ironically, the video was posted on the ACLU’s Twitter page under a banner that reads: 'ACLU — Let People Vote.'," Hunter said.

"To be clear, what Mr. Walczak is complaining about is the fact that the residents of the Central Bucks School District went to the polls and elected their representatives. The Board is not going to be distracted by the ACLU’s tactics," Hunter added.

If the board moves to hire Duane Morris, McSwain and Rinaldi will conduct "an internal investigation" of the school policies and claims made by the ACLU, Hunter added.

"We are eager for the findings of the Duane Morris investigation in order to address what has otherwise been, for nearly a month, hidden information," Hunter said.

An ACLU spokesperson said Monday the organization couldn't comment on the district's hiring of new counsel but did offer a response from Walczak to Hunter's comments.

"The only thing the CB school board should be distracted by is figuring out how they fix the toxic environment they have created for LGBTQ students,” Walczak wrote.

ACLU says CBSD "toxic" for LGBTQ:ACLU alleges 'toxic environment' at Central Bucks School District for LGBTQ+ students

The accusations against Central Bucks in the ACLU complaint included that the district:

  • directed teachers in some schools to use student name and pronouns based on their birth-assigned sex unless the student’s parent says otherwise. The district also has directed teachers to notify guidance counselors if a student wants to be called a different name or pronoun, so parents can be notified;

  • banned Pride flags and other symbols of the LGBTQ+ community in classrooms, and issuing a public statement calling those symbols “a flashpoint for controversy and divisiveness” and a “symbol for taking sides;”

  • enacted new library and curriculum policies that may result in the removal of LGBTQ-themed books and learning resources.

The ACLU cited its allegations of gender discrimination and violation of the students’ rights under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, according to the complaint.

The ACLU's complaint also noted another potential policy change that was expected to come to a vote at Tuesday's meeting but as of Monday afternoon did not appear on the agenda.

More on Policy 321:Central Bucks wants to restrict speech on LGBTQ issues. What we know about new policy proposal

The “Political, Sociopolitical, and Other Related Communications” Policy No. 321, passed a first-read majority vote last month for the policy that would restrict teachers from displaying anything in the classroom “related to political, sociopolitical, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious beliefs.” And teachers cannot appear to advocate on any issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity or religion.

The school board meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the meeting room at 16 Welden Drive in Doylestown and meetings are streamed online under the school board's webpage at www.cbsd.org.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Central Bucks School District could hire law firm to review ACLU complaint