Lakeville Schools votes to remove ‘Inclusive Poster Series’ at center of federal lawsuit
UPDATE:
The Lakeville School District Board voted Tuesday night to remove the diversity and inclusion posters and replace them with an “excellence campaign.”
KSTP’s previous reporting can be found below.
The Lakeville School Board is scheduled to vote Tuesday night on whether to take down a series of diversity and inclusion posters hanging in schools since 2021.
The “Inclusive Poster Series” has been at the center of a federal lawsuit filed against Lakeville Area Schools in 2022.
The ongoing lawsuit was brought by several residents who took issue, specifically with two of eight posters in the series that say “Black Lives Matter.”
The school district has not confirmed if the Tuesday night vote stems from that, but it “has really come out of the blue,” said parent Laura Fangel.
Fangel said she’s one of many parents and other residents expected to pack the school board meeting for the discussion and subsequent vote on whether to remove the posters.
A Lakeville Area Schools spokesperson said the series was created “…with student feedback and the final designs and messages were supported by students, as well as staff and community advisory groups.”
“We estimate that approximately 3,000 posters from the series have been distributed among all schools since they were first made available in 2021… as an option for all staff,” the email read.
“I think that the entirety of the posters are, overall, a really great message,” Fangel said.
“I definitely want the posters to stay up. I think they’re important.”
Not all parents feel the same.
In the 2022 lawsuit, others claim the “Black Lives Matter” posters are “political,” alleging they violate the First Amendment and create a “hostile education environment.”
“I do think that the vote is probably related in some way to the lawsuit and maybe what’s going on nationwide, but you know, I don’t know that for sure, obviously,” Fangel said.
The unknown surrounding the vote was the crux of the issue for Fangel.
“Like, we haven’t been told why this is happening,” she said.
“So, yes, I obviously want the posters to stay up, but if the community felt differently, I could understand. Then, if that was the feedback, then maybe the posters come down because that’s what the community really feels. But I don’t think they’ve taken the opportunity to understand how our community feels.”
The district confirmed the vote was not related to President Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders but has not confirmed or denied if it’s related to the lawsuit.
Suing residents and the district are expected to settle it in federal court in two weeks.