Board defends curriculum changes; students and teachers protest remarks to student representatives

A contentious portion of the Elizabethtown Area School District meeting focused on recent curriculum changes and the treatment of student representatives.

Multiple public comment speakers, including teachers’ union president Jim Safford and several student speakers, criticized comments the board president made to student representatives at a prior meeting and called for apologies and better decorum. "Disagreement is not disrespect," Safford said, adding that staff stand in solidarity with the student representatives and condemning what he described as demeaning comments.

Board members and administration clarified the district's action regarding literature: materials (including The Glass Castle, The Hate U Give and others) were removed from required ELA curriculum assignments but not removed from school libraries. "No books were removed from the school library," an administrator said during public comment, adding that the books remain accessible to students but are no longer assigned in required classroom instruction.

Several students and parents said removing works from curriculum denies some students exposure to differing perspectives and educational experiences. Student speakers described outreach they conducted to classmates and urged board members to restore optional curriculum choices.

The board accepted several second‑reading policy updates and tabled policy 0105 for further committee consideration; members said they will continue public engagement and communications.

Next steps: Policy 0105 will be revisited in a committee‑of‑the‑whole meeting (scheduled for Dec. 2). The board and administration reiterated that library access remains in place and encouraged continued dialogue with families and students.