Chino Valley School Board bans pride flags in classrooms

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. - The Chino Valley School Board's meeting drew a tense crowd Thursday night after district leaders voted to ban pride flags in the classrooms.

Nearly 200 people attended the meeting, including Chino High School valedictorian Danny Mora, an openly gay student heading to Yale in the fall.

It didn't take an Ivy League-bound student to notice the timing of the pride flag ban being voted on by the district's school board.

"Banning every flag to be flown in classrooms except for the American state flag," Mora said. "I honestly think it's not a coincidence that this is going on during Pride Month."

However, the big reason why many made their way to Don Lugo High School for the meeting was to discuss Chino Valley School Board's proposal that would effectively out transgender students to their parents. If a student tells them to call them by a pronoun or a name other than what's on their birth certificate, they have 72 hours to notify the parents.

"These policies are incredibly damaging for all of the students," said Estefania Hernandez, a student. "Pride flags – pride – is a symbol of hope."

The fate of the proposal that would out the transgender students to their families was not decided Thursday night, but is expected to be discussed once again in future meetings.