King Philip Middle School promotes pride mural to students; King Philip Regional School District has “educational equity” policy to use “gender identity” to inform district decisions

King Philip Middle School in Massachusetts has a large pride mural in a public space so that young students can easily see it. The mural notably contains the progress flag in the shape of a heart with transgender imagery. The words “equity,” “acceptance,” “respect,” “love,” and “kindness” surround the heart. A concerned parent shared the image in the Facebook group Massachusetts Informed Parents.

King Philip Regional School District has a post online titled “Celebrate our Differences – Equality Mural” that is dated June 19, 2021. The district explains that the mural was created as part of a Girl Scout project:

This mural was created by a group of students working towards their Girl Scout Silver Award to celebrate our differences. It is meant to promote equity and inclusivity for all students, especially those who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of color) and/or in the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning) community. This mural hopes to inspire equity, acceptance, kindness, love, and respect in the KP community. It shows that everybody is accepted and loved, even though they are from different cultures or places.

The district has a policy titled “Educational Equity” dated April 5, 2021. The district explains in the policy to achieve perceived educational equity that the district will: “Systematically, when appropriate, use districtwide and individual school level data, disaggregated by race/ethnicity, gender/gender identity, national origin, language, special education, socioeconomic status and mobility to inform district decision making.” The district will additionally “seek to promote educational equity as a priority in professional development” and “endeavor to create schools with a welcoming and inclusive culture and environment.”