School Board meetings in Orchard Park have been anything but dull in recent months.
Parents have questioned the appropriateness of school library books, and in December the School Board adopted a gender identity policy that ignited speeches for and against it during the public comment period.
A newly approved gender identity policy pitted some adults against students at Tuesday night’s Orchard Park School Board meeting.
The issues have spilled over in the race for three board seats next week, and prompted some students to form Students Protecting Education, a nonprofit group that promotes diverse, inclusive and equitable education for all students.
“We formed in Orchard Park in October to go to board meetings to speak out against book banning and to speak in support of the gender policy that affirms LGBTQ peers and gives them a safe space and environment,” said sophomore Luke Lippitt, who founded the group with Jillian Yarnes.
Students Protecting Education has expanded to a chapter in Charleston, S.C., and has taken the unusual action for a student group to endorse candidates in next week’s election.
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