State Representative Cheri Helt (R-Bend) stood in unity with students, fellow State Board of Education members and State Representatives Caddy McKeown (D-Coos Bay) and David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford) in the fight to ban the confederate flag and other symbols of hatred from school grounds during a recent State Board of Education meeting. The All Students Belong initiative is an important step, the first of its kind in the nation, to set rules within the education curriculum that would ban symbols of hatred from Oregon school grounds, including the Confederate Flag, swastikas and nooses.
“The confederate flag is a symbol of treason, racism and white supremacy. It has no place in Oregon. I am proud of the leadership and work of the students in our state that brought this forward. As a state representative, and long-time education leader, I want to send a strong message that our educators and staff have the right to work in an environment free from discrimination and harassment, and that all students of color are loved and belong in our schools,” said Helt in a statement. “I look forward to bringing forward legislation in the 2021 Legislative Session to ban these symbols of hatred and codify it into Oregon Law.
Helt currently serves on the State Board of Education as Secretary of State Bev Clarno’s designee.
For more information regarding these new rules, please email AllStudentsBelong@state.or.us.
