Students urge Santa Cruz County board to eliminate use of racial slurs, request policy review

Three students asked the Santa Cruz County Board of Education to take formal steps to eliminate hate speech from schools and to update board policies on nondiscrimination and harassment.

"Our resolution specifically focuses on hate speech as it consistently impacts the culture environment," said Pedro Nadir Camilo, a junior at Santa Cruz High School representing the Black Student Union. He told trustees the persistent use of the N-word normalizes that language and harms students’ mental health and sense of belonging. Sebastian Andreega Williams, representing the countywide BSU and the student race and equity advisory, and Leon Clark presented related recommendations including restorative-learning approaches and student pledges.

President Williams thanked the students and said the board cannot act on non-agendized items at that moment but that the materials would be passed to the board’s policy committee for review. "Although we can't act on it, we will be sure to take it to our committee of policies where we can talk about integrating your request," the president said.

The students asked that the board adopt a formal resolution that would explicitly eliminate the use of the N-word and other hate speech in district settings and that the COE revise its nondiscrimination and harassment policy language to reflect those expectations. Board members responded appreciatively and noted the appropriate procedural path for an item brought in public comment: referral to committee, not immediate adoption.

The board did not take a formal vote on the students’ resolution during the meeting; next steps described on the record were limited to the policy-committee referral and receipt of the students’ written resolution.