Local residents call out North Carolina school board that banned LGBTQ+ trivia quiz

The Cleveland County Board of Education in North Carolina is already facing a lawsuit over its banning of an LGBTQ+ trivia quiz, and now local residents have made it clear they’re not pleased.

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Four community members addressed the board during the public comment portion of its meeting Monday night, saying the action is a violation of students’ First Amendment rights.

Shelby High School’s Activism Club wanted to hold an LGBTQ+ trivia quiz, asking students to identify figures such as Harvey Milk, Lady Gaga, and Ellen DeGeneres as well as media featuring LGBTQ+ characters or actors. The trivia game contained no depictions of sex, violence, or illegal activities, but the school board and Superintendent Stephen Fisher deemed it “indecent” and nixed the event.

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina is representing the student who founded the activism club in a federal lawsuit against the board and Fisher.

Rod Powell, who ran unsuccessfully for the board last year, was one of those who addressed board members. “A group of students wanted to host a trivia game about LGBTQ+ figures of history,” he said, according to The Star of Shelby, N.C. “Just a game, no different than any other educational activity hosted by other clubs, but instead of treating them fairly this board shut them down, calling it indecent. Since when is learning about history indecent? Since when is acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ+ people something to be censored? This isn’t just wrong, this is illegal.”

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He pointed to the Equal Access Act, a U.S. law that bars school districts from receiving federal funds if they deny students the right to hold meetings based on the “religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings.”

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“The First Amendment guarantees students the right to free speech and free association,” Powell said. “The board has singled out LGBTQ+ topics for suppression, and that is discrimination.”

He also said the district’s action signals that LGBTQ+ students don’t belong and that it would exacerbate they high rates of mental health issues they face, including suicidal ideation.

Austin Costner, another area resident, cited the LGBTQ+ community’s role in advancing civil rights.

“Individuals within this community have played a pivotal role in shaping the world we live in,” he said, as reported by The Star. “They produce works that challenge the norms and explore identity acceptance in the human experience.”

“Discussions about these community members are not indecent, nor do they pose a threat to our students,” Costner added.

Jenni Ross, a parent who graduated from the district’s Crest High School, said, “What is indecent is belittling this entire group of people, again, including our very own students. It is indecent doing the students of Cleveland County Schools this disservice by limiting their ability to discuss the diversity that makes this community thrive.” She noted that she is proud of the student who brought the lawsuit.

The suit, filed last month in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, claims the board’s actions infringed on students’ rights to free speech, freedom of association, and equal access to school resources. It has been assigned to Chief Judge Martin Reidinger, but no date has been set for its hearing.