November 13, 2017

Chad Pimentel, General Counsel

Alameda Unified School District
2060 Challenger Drive
Alameda, CA 94501
cpimentel@alameda.k12.ca.us

Re: ACLUs response to Alameda Unifieds response to School District Censorship of

Black Lives Matter stickers, signs, and speakers
Dear Mr. Pimentel,
We appreciate the Alameda Unified School District formally responding to our November 1,
2017 inquiry. We are pleased that the District agrees that it would be unlawful to ban student
messages supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Nonetheless, it is disappointing that the District chose to attack the ACLU and the students and
parent we represent over the confusion created, deliberately or not, by Superintendent
McPhetridge. The question posed by Dede Lewis was not whether community members may
distribute materials on campus, but whether the Superintendent agreed with school
administrators who were saying that Black Lives Matter (BLM) signs were not allowed at AUSD
unless they are a students art work. In response, the Superintendent responded by citing an
irrelevant District policy, explaining that a parent was unhappy about a BLM sticker, and then
justifying the ban because Black Lives Matter messages are controversial. It is beyond
question that a reasonable parent would understand his response to mean exactly what we
claimed: that the District would not allow BLM messages because they are controversial
speech.
As the chief executive in the District, it is incumbent upon Superintendent McPhetridge to be
careful and accurate when communicating about the constitutional rights of students. Instead of
blaming parents and students who were understandably confused by his response, we urge you to
work to ensure that that the Superintendent or his representative if he is unable, to better
communicate these important issues to the community he serves.
Next, we take at your word that the District does not allow community members to distribute
materials at school. That said, despite the ACLUs inquiries during a phone call with your office
regarding our November 1 letter, it is still unclear how the District concluded that the BLM
messages were not student-initiated. If it is correct that the Superintendent made such a
conclusion based on a social media post, we urge you to ensure that school officials conduct
proper investigations prior to removing constitutionally protected speech.
In conclusion, the ACLU stands with parents and students who had a legitimate concern
regarding the Districts chilling of free speech rights. We hope that the District can move
forward in a transparent way that does not confuse parents and students regarding its stance on
free speech.

Sincerely,

Abre Conner
Staff Attorney, ACLU of Northern California

cc: Sean McPhetridge, Superintendent

Alameda Unified School District
smcphetridge@alameda.k12.ca.us
Alameda Unified School Board