Kennewick votes on WA bills on diversity in books, teaching. Parents, ex-teachers object

The Kennewick School Board passed a resolution Tuesday morning strongly opposing two controversial bills in the Washington Legislature related to books and curricula on historically marginalized and underrepresented groups.

The vote was unanimous, 4-0, with school board member Mike Connors abstaining from the vote over objections to the time and manner of the special meeting.

The Kennewick School Board — which oversees the instruction of 20,000 K-12 students — appears to be the largest in Washington to come out in opposition to the two bills. The resolution is not binding and does not immediately impact any curriculum — it simply reflects the view of the governing body.

The school board says it believes the legislation would trample local control and parental rights over their children’s education.

The board believe the bills are being peddled by “activist state commissions pushing sexual agendas and politics and subverting the vote of the local community,” the resolution stated.

“We’re not trying to ban books, we’re not trying to segregate kids. We’re not trying to do anything like that,” said board President Gabe Galbraith.

But nearly all of the 20 local community members who showed up at the meeting — many of them former teachers or school board members — say they believe Kennewick’s resolution was rooted in misguided fear and signified they were participating in partisan politics.

“You’re telling people like me: I shouldn’t be here, I shouldn’t have a say,” said Aaron Beasley, 63, a Black man who served on the Pasco School Board in the 1990s.

Gayle Hane, a former Kennewick teacher who taught for 35 years and worked on curriculum adoption committees, said the resolution goes against the district’s guiding principles and values on diversity, and equitable and inclusive environments.

“How can you oppose a bill that supports so (much) of what you say are the goals of KSD, like providing the best education for every child and fostering belonging?” she asked. “You’re opposing this bill is not in the best interest of providing the best education for every child, and it defies the very goals you have stated in your strategic plan.”

Galbraith and Vice President Micah Valentine were the only two school board members who showed up in person for the public comment period and vote. The other three — Connors, Josh Miller and Brittany Gledhill — participated in the meeting online.

Several community members, including Connors, questioned the motivation behind holding the meeting with only four days notice and in the middle of a work day.

“I’m not even going to discuss these two bills because this is neither the time nor place, and it shows a complete disregard for our community. We’ve got people that thankfully came out today to stand up and voice their opinions, but it is certainly not what I would consider a fair swath of our community. This should be discussed at a regular meeting,” he said.

“We shouldn’t be doing this. And in the future, if we’re going to have a special meeting, it better be pretty damn special because this is not. This is a waste of my time, a waste of the board’s time and a waste of staff’s time. I am pissed,” Connors continued.

Bills in WA Legislature

ESHB 2331 would bar school boards from refusing to approve or prohibit the use of educational materials on the basis that they include the contributions of any individual or group who is part of a “protected class.”

Some have viewed this legislation as an anti-book banning bill that would bar school boards from taking action against books they find objectionable. If local board’s violate the bill, critics say, they may be subject to losing some or all of their state apportionment funding.

The bill passed the Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education on Monday and is on track for a floor vote sometime this week. If passed in the Senate, it would go to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

The other bill, ESB 5462, would require schools to teach the histories, contributions and perspectives of LGBTQ people in age-appropriate school curricula after a review of learning standards by the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in consultation with the LGBTQ Commission.

The Washington State School Directors’ Association, also would be required to adopt a policy for school boards to adopt instructional materials covering such groups as Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, people of different religions and people who are neurodiverse.

The House Committee on Education was scheduled to take executive action on ESB 5462 on Tuesday afternoon.

Both bills passed their first chambers along party lines, with Democrats in support of the two bills and Republicans in opposition.

Republican Tri-City lawmakers — including Sen. Matt Boehnke and Reps. April Connors and Stephanie Barnard — have consistently voted against the bills. April Connors is married to school board member Mike Connors.

Tuesday meeting

Galbraith said tight legislative deadlines and similar resolutions from other school boards, including Mead and Central Valley, is what prompted a quick special meeting 9 a.m. on Tuesday after the holiday weekend.

He said he understands there may be diverse takeaways from the community on this action: Some will appreciate them weighing in on what’s going on in the Legislature, but others might view them as trying to whitewash history or ban books, which he denies.

“At the end of the day, we’re just trying to figure out what we feel is right for the school district and our kids. And people are going to disagree and people are going to agree,” he said.

Last year, Kennewick voters replaced two moderate-progressive school board members with a pair that was more conservative. Galbraith said he believes Kennewick is already seen as a role model that could provide checks on educational policy coming out of Olympia.

“I don’t think we’ll be afraid to take something up. If a member wants to discuss something — it’s on the agenda, let’s do it,” he said.

Gledhill said she spent 15 hours this weekend studying and trying to understand the two bills. She’s in favor of more inclusive curricula, but said the two bills include statutes that are “problematic when you consider local control.”

“There are actually some elements of these bills that would make our policies and procedures less inclusive than what they are right now,” she said, noting a section in ESHB 2331 that would limit complaints made to instructional materials committees to only those filed by parents or guardians.

Kennewick staff have not studied what affects the bills could have in the schools yet because they’re still making their way through the Legislature and are subject to amendments and changes.

Kennewick Education Association President Rob Woodford attended the meeting and did not speak to the board. He declined to weigh in on the issue.