School official says 1st-grader was traumatized by poster of people of different races holding hands

Children are being traumatized by rainbow flags and posters of multi-racial children holding hands, say trustees of the Conroe Independent School District (CISD) of Texas. The trustees now want more strict rules around classroom displays.

Even though the district already has a policy prohibiting political displays unrelated to curriculum, CISD trustee Melissa Dungan said she wants a more restrictive “crackdown” by trustees on such displays, KTRK reported.

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Duggan said “a number of parents” had contacted her about “supposed displays of personal ideologies in classrooms.”

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“I wish I was shocked by each of the examples that were shared with me, however, I am aware these trends have been happening for many years,” she told her fellow trustees at a recent meeting.

When asked about these “trends,” Dugan mentioned a first-grade student who was reportedly traumatized after seeing a poster of people of different races holding hands. The traumatized child, according to Dugan, had to change classrooms.

After hearing this, Stacey Chase, a fellow CISD trustee, replied, “Just so I understand, you are seriously suggesting that you find objectionable, a poster indicating that all are included?”

Duggan reportedly didn’t share her personal feelings about the poster but said she wants to avoid “situations like that” in the future.

One trustee, Misty Odenweller, reportedly claimed that displaying Pride flags in classrooms is a violation of state law. When trustee Datren Williams asked Duggan if Bible verses would violate the district policy on political displays, Duggan responded, “I don’t know.”

Republicans nationwide have increasingly opposed anti-racist and LGBTQ+-inclusive educational materials, claiming that both are “leftist” attempts to “indoctrinate” children into accepting a “woke” political agenda.

The city of Conroe is 71% white and nearly 12% Black with some members of both races overlapping with the 30% of self-identified Latinos in the community, according to the U.S. Census. A 2021 study called the city “a high segregation community” and noted wide financial and political disparities between Black and white residents.

In 2020, 71.3% of voters in Montgomery County, which contains Conroe, supported Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.