By adding a reference to harassment because of sexual orientation, the board of education of Oak Park Elementary School District 97 last week approved a revision to its student policy for “serious misconduct.”
Board member and policy committee co-chair Rance Clouser said the revision was not because of recent discussions at Beye School. In January, some parents at Beye had objected to a guest speaker talking to teachers about bullying in relation to children of same-sex parents. The controversy was fueled by a Carol Stream-based conservative group that blasted Beye on its Web site for allowing such a speaker.
Clouser said a board member had suggested revising the policy last fall.
“It was part of our normal policy review practices. It’s ironic that it came up close to the discussions at Beye. It had more to do with timing than anything else,” he said.
The board unanimously approved the revision on Tuesday, March 9.
-Terry Dean
