On Feb. 13, the Hate-Free Schools Coalition was temporarily locked out of the Orange County Board of Education meeting.
The next board of education meeting will be held Monday at 7 p.m. at Stanback Middle School.
The HFSC is a group of multiracial parents and concerned residents who advocate for banning acts of racial intimidation in school systems, including the presence of Confederate flags in schools.
The coalition began when Latarndra Strong, founder of the HFSC, saw the Confederate flag hanging from the back of students' pickup trucks as she was dropping her daughter off at school. After contacting the principal, she was notified that the students were in compliance with the dress code policy.
Representatives from the coalition attended the Feb. 13 Board of Education meeting to speak during the public comment portion about reinstating the dress code clause that forbids racial symbols in schools. This clause, originally part of the dress code policy, was removed in March 2016.
Emily Elstad, a member of the coalition, said that at the January meetings, members signed up to speak and were then permitted access into the board meeting room for the public comment period.
She said that during this meeting, however, they were told to wait outside for the entire meeting. During the three minutes allotted for public comments, each member was allowed inside one by one. After some time, the group was allowed in the building and constricted to a tight sitting area in the hallway, away from the board meeting room.
“We felt frustrated, we felt like our rights were being violated because this is a public meeting,” Elstad said. “The law states that the public has to be able to attend, and we were denied access.”
Stephen Halkiotis, chairperson of the Orange County Board of Education, said that because they knew they were going to have a big crowd, the board had two deputies present. He said the Hillsborough Fire Marshal puts a 35 person limit on the board meeting room.
