Middle School Gets Away with Saying NO to Pro-Life Group

Valeria Guerrero was a young pro-life student in 2017 who just wanted to start
a pro-life group at her public middle school in Aurora, Illinois. As a public
school receiving federal funding, Granger Middle School had no legal right to
hinder Valeria’s efforts in any way. Yet they gave her the runaround for two
whole years, successfully getting away with discrimination as Valeria
graduated. At the writing of this, the school’s website lists 26 student clubs
that are offered. On their “About Our School” page, they note, “We are
committed to having all voices valued,” and “We are committed to engaging
the whole student through differentiated experiences.” Clearly, those words
are just for show.

Following her experiences, Valeria shared her story with us:

On the last week of my seventh-grade year in 2017, I approached my school’s

administration, with support from Students for Life, with a proposal for a Pro-
Life club. I was hoping to hear an update over the summer, but it soon
became clear that they were going to give me a response as late as possible.
In late September of my eighth-grade year, I finally received a response. I was
told I would have to be an “outside group” which means: no posters, no
announcements, no flyers, and no free speech. The school’s excuse for this was
the unavailability of stipends for the teacher overseeing the club. After many
exchanges between myself and the principal, trying to get this statement in
writing (which I did get), I decided to try to get my foot in the door and start
as an outside group (although I never intended to remain so). 

However, the second week of November 2017, when the first meeting was
supposed to take place, the principal called my mother to tell her all the things
that I’ve been doing in order to attempt to get this club up and running - as if
my mother wasn’t the first to know of all my endeavors. She also let my
mother know that the meeting that Thursday wasn’t going to happen because
after she spoke with the teacher who had agreed to be the adult supervisor for
the club, and let her know of the “risks" involved with the position, the teacher
had changed her mind. At this point, Thomas Moore Society became involved
on our behalf. After exchanges with the school’s attorney all throughout
December 2017 through April 2018 and re-establishing the original teacher’s
willingness not only to be the faculty advisor but to do it without a stipend
(obviously the teacher had been given misleading information, since once I
talked to her and clarified, she was more than willing to be part of this),
nothing was resolved.

In May 2018, their final email to us explained that a school administration

cannot individually negotiate with a teacher on the issue of stipends, but they
could with a Union representing the teacher, something they should have told
us from the start. We have already spoken to the Union Rep at Granger and
they have already expressed permission, and actually said they are willing to
help. Unfortunately, it came too late because I have graduated, and despite
our efforts, we could not find a Granger student willing to continue the club.
That’s where the story at Granger ended. I did however start a middle school
group at my parish: Our Lady of Mercy in Aurora. And that’s what I’m working
on right now. Now that I attend Benet for high school, I am also part of their
pro-life group.