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Wood BOE discusses clubs policy

Speakers voice concern over effect on Bible clubs

Parkersburg South High School teacher Betsy Utt was one of several people who addressed the Wood County Board of Education Tuesday evening concerning a new policy on non-curricular clubs and how it might affect Christian clubs in area schools. (Photo by Michael Erb)

Groups on both sides voiced concerns over Bible clubs in schools during Tuesday’s Wood County Board of Education meeting.

Officials have announced new guidelines for non-curricular clubs in public schools and are looking at creating a new policy for Wood County Schools.

Superintendent Will Hosaflook presented the guidelines last week to school administrators and talked about them during Tuesday’s superintendent’s report. The policy will be placed on a public comment period and be reviewed during the school board’s meetings in January.

“Every club has to be treated exactly the same if it is non-curricular,” Hosaflook said. “All the non-curricular clubs would be bound by this policy.”

The guidelines specify non-curricular clubs, those that are not part of the state curriculum such as math and foreign language, must be student-run and student-driven and cannot be organized or governed by outside groups. It also limits meetings to non-instructional times, such as before or after school, and only allows groups to meet as a student-organized activity during the non-instructional school day, such as during lunch or a specific time set aside for clubs.

Anthony Underwood, president of the Mid-Ohio Valley Atheists and Humanists, spoke in favor of the new non-curricular clubs policy, saying Wood County Schools has a legal and ethical responsibility to keep schools welcoming and safe for students of all beliefs. (Photo by Michael Erb)

Hosaflook said the guidelines and policy follow all state and federal requirements and are designed to protect a student’s constitutional rights.

“This policy is the law,” Hosaflook said. “I think everyone can accomplish what they want to accomplish, we just have to follow the law.”

The guidelines follow a complaint from the national Freedom From Religion organization which accused some Bible clubs of being organized by outside churches or agencies and using teachers to recruit students.

Anthony Underwood, president of the Mid-Ohio Valley Atheists and Humanists, spoke out in favor of the new policy, saying the school system was legally obligated to enforce the law but also ethically responsible for ensuring schools are welcoming to all students regardless of what they believe.

“When government employees, most especially those entrusted with the instruction of children, make clear declarations as to their religious faith, they are turning what should be an all-inclusive educational experience into a divided camp, a place of us versus them,” Underwood said.

Shelli Brown, Mid-Ohio Valley coordinator for Generation-NXT, told the Wood County Board of Education Tuesday many schools already have canceled Christian club meetings or banned the organizations entirely. Brown said a new policy governing non-curricular clubs may make it difficult for even non-Christian clubs to form or continue meeting. (Photo by Michael Erb)

Shelli Brown, Mid-Ohio Valley coordinator for Generation-NXT, said the Christian clubs do provide a safe, caring space for students and do not violate the law.

“We want to create a place of belonging for all students,” she said. “They’re valued, they’re loved just the way they are.”

However, Brown said, several schools throughout the county canceled club meetings after receiving the new guidelines, and some schools have banned the Generation-NXT clubs entirely.

Brown said the rules for creating new clubs and forcing some to meet before or after school when many students will not be able to attend also will have a detrimental effect.

“I don’t think this will only affect faith based clubs but will make it difficult for any non-curricular clubs to assemble,” she said.

Parkersburg South High School teacher Betsy Utt said she created the Prayer and Praise Club as a safe space for students.

“Within that room, they found a community. They found people that cared,” she said. “They had a place to go when they were upset, or when they had something good happen, or when they had something bad happen.”

Utt said the club was completely student led and driven, but this year she was not allowed to have the club at South.

“I was told I could not have my Prayer and Praise Club because they had a multitude of Christian clubs to choose from,” she said. However, “none were approved.”

In other business, the board met briefly in executive session to discuss an employee suspension and student expulsion. The board returned to open session and unanimously approved a three-day suspension without pay of employee Brad Ritchie. No further details were given.

The board also unanimously approved the 365-day expulsion of a student due to violation of the Safe Schools Act. No details were given, though officials indicated it was related to social media use.

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