West
Father sues school district for refusing to display straight pride flag alongside Progress Pride flag
![Father sues school district for refusing to display straight pride flag alongside Progress Pride flag Father sues school district for refusing to display straight pride flag alongside Progress Pride flag](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/denver-public-schools-progress-pride-flag-lawsuit.jpg)
A Colorado father is suing the state’s largest school district, claiming staff refused to let him display a “straight pride” flag alongside the Progress Pride flags on view throughout his children’s Denver school.
Nathan Feldman argues his children are being barred from exercising their freedom of speech in a case of viewpoint discrimination.
Feldman’s lawyer, Michael Yoder, blamed equity policies like Denver’s for “the overt sexualization of content in elementary schools nationwide.” Progress Pride flags and gender identity books geared toward young children encourage students to ask about them and foster one-sided conversation around inappropriate topics in the classroom, he said.
Nathan Feldman allegedly asked to put a straight pride flag alongside the Progress Pride flags displayed at his children’s school. In his lawsuit, he claims the school violated both the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. (Screenshot via lawsuit)
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“If we had more parents like [Feldman], then these policies would never have been rolled out in the first place, and they’d be teaching kids about math and science,” Yoder said. “They wouldn’t be talking about sexual orientation and homosexuality and having this flamboyant breeding ground for inappropriate content.”
The conflict began in October 2022 when Feldman visited Slavens School, where his twin children were second grade students. He noticed dozens of Progress Pride flags displayed in classrooms and hallways, according to the suit.
The Progress Pride flag is a redesigned version of the rainbow flag with additional stripes to specifically honor transgender individuals and people of color.
Feldman told his children’s teachers the flags were “not inclusive of all Slavens School students and only represent one viewpoint on the topic of sex,” the suit claims. He asked if he could place an identically-sized flag representing his children’s views on the same topic alongside the existing flags and allegedly offered an example of a “straight pride flag.”
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The teachers did not respond, but Feldman continued to raise concerns. Then the Slavens School principal allegedly replied in an email that the district supports the right of employees to post a “rainbow flag or other sign of support for LGBTQIA+ students or staff, because these are symbols consistent with the District’s equity-based curriculum.”
“The District doesn’t allow for other flags,” the principal allegedly told Feldman.
Feldman filed the suit in November in the U.S. District of Colorado. Denver Public Schools, the board of education, Slavens School and several school administrators and other staff are listed as defendants.
A spokesperson for Denver Public Schools told Fox News on Monday that they had not yet been served with the lawsuit, but did not comment further. The district’s Board of Education similarly did not offer comment on the suit, but told Fox News the board passed a resolution “in support of the inclusion for our LGBTQIA+ employees, students, and community members” in 2020.
The resolution reaffirms the district’s commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all individuals, allowing students to use the bathroom or locker room of their choice, affirming students’ gender identity and expression, and honoring students’ identities regardless of whether they receive parental “consent.”
![White House pride flag](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Father-sues-school-district-for-refusing-to-display-straight-pride.png)
American flags and a pride flag hang from the White House before a Pride Month celebration June 10, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Yoder said Feldman sets the “gold standard” for parental involvement in their children’s educational environment. While the lawsuit seeks $3 million in damages, Yoder said the punitive damages are meant to hold the district accountable for “intentional discrimination.”
He also emphasized that Feldman has never asked the school to remove the pride flags and is “in no way attacking the LGBTQ community.”
“It’s simply the straight forward issue of viewpoint discrimination in a public school,” Yoder told Fox News. “You’re expressing a viewpoint on one topic and you’re silencing our viewpoint on the exact same topic. You cannot do that … it violates the First Amendment.”
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The lawsuit also claims that, during a meeting with Feldman and the principal, the districts family constituency specialist said sexual orientation, gender and race protections “only apply to homosexuals, people of color, and trans people.”
“White, straight kids don’t have the same rights” in the district’s eyes, Yoder said. “Imagine if those two categories of race and sexual orientation were substituted … [with another identity] and see how that would play out in today’s world.”
![New pride flag.](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1701780499_86_Father-sues-school-district-for-refusing-to-display-straight-pride.jpg)
Nathan Feldman’s lawsuit claims that dozens of Progress Pride flags were posted outside classrooms at his children’s school. He says the school’s refusal to let him display a straight pride flag alongside them constitutes viewpoint discrimination. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Yoder and partner Chad LaVeglia are behind numerous high-profile constitutional cases across the country, including a suit accusing the Washington Commanders of suppressing Native American history and culture by ditching the “Redskins” name.
Their firm also represented two moms who sued a New York school district for making students wear masks, and Yoder created an equality “activism kit” intended to help students and parents halt the “force-fed ‘Gay Pride’ agenda.”
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Arizona
Arizona Basketball Reportedly Has ‘Moved On’ From Recruitment of Top 20 Player
![Arizona Basketball Reportedly Has ‘Moved On’ From Recruitment of Top 20 Player Arizona Basketball Reportedly Has ‘Moved On’ From Recruitment of Top 20 Player](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4808,h_2704,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_wildcats/01j6n74w50b9eekgnctc.jpg)
While all eyes in Tucson are on the Arizona Wildcats getting their football season underway, basketball is slowly starting to get things in motion.
Two scrimmage dates have been announced for fans to get their first look at this year’s team, with one being held on their home floor and the other being played in Glendale.
Expectations are high for the Wildcats to hit the ground running during their first season in the Big 12 Conference, and with the way this program has performed under head coach Tommy Lloyd, that should be of little surprise to anyone.
In the three years since he’s taken over, Arizona has won two Pac-12 regular season titles and two Pac-12 tournaments, earning a top two seed in the NCAA Tournament every year.
But despite that success, they have topped out on the national stage by being unable to advance past the Sweet 16 round.
Solving that riddle will be the key for Lloyd during his time in Tucson, and by being inserted into a more competitive conference, it will be more difficult for them to maintain a stranglehold on the regular season.
So how can Arizona emerge as true national powers again?
They need to start recruiting at a much higher level than they have under Lloyd.
His first full cycle in charge was the 2022 class, and since that time, the Wildcats have failed to secure a ranking in the top 15.
There are signs this is changing since they finished with the 16th overall class last year, but only landing two four-star recruits makes it tough to maintain long-term success when they have to rely on the transfer portal.
Seemingly knowing that, Lloyd and his staff are attacking the recruiting trail by trying to land some of the best players in the 2025 class.
With visits set up for the fall, the Wildcats are poised to make a huge splash this year.
However, there is at least one recruit in this cycle Arizona had interest in who they are moving on from.
When referencing Tounde Yessoufou, Joe Tipton of On3 reports, “Arizona has moved on from his recruitment and will look to fill the small forward position elsewhere.”
The California native is ranked as the No. 19 player in this class and has garned national interest from some of the top programs around the country like Kentucky, Baylor, UCLA, Tennessee, Kansas, and UConn.
The 6-foot-5, four-star forward has taken two trips to see Arizona, including an official visit back on June 16.
But clearly they feel like their attention is better served elsewhere, whether that’s because the interest has waned from a singular party, or if both are more interest in other options.
Still, this cycle will be one to closely monitor for the Lloyd and the Wildcats as they look to secure their best recruiting class in this era.
California
Some artificial dyes could be banned from California schools
![Some artificial dyes could be banned from California schools Some artificial dyes could be banned from California schools](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/08/31/USAT/75032936007-usatsi-24090018.jpg?auto=webp&crop=4175,2349,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
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Dr. Ali Mattu explains how efforts like making checklists or being physically active can help manage ADHD.
California public schools could soon be banned from serving certain artificial dyes in food over concerns about developmental harm in children.
Dubbed a “first-in-the-nation” measure, state lawmakers this week passed Assembly Bill 2316 to prohibit six additives that are permitted by federal regulators to make food more colorful. California’s AB 2316, known as the California School Food Safety Act, is now on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.
The bill says state research suggests such synthetic dyes can result in hyperactivity and other behavioral problems. Similar previous research prompted the European Union to restrict food coloring. Nearly all of the products that the California bill would ban in schools require warning labels in E.U. products.
The bill would ban commercial dyes of Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, in public schools in the nation’s largest state.
“California has a responsibility to protect our students from chemicals that harm children and interfere with their ability to learn,” state Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat who authored the bill, said in a statement. He said that he struggled with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, and he is now a parent.
On Saturday, a spokesperson said Newsom’s office didn’t comment on pending legislation. The deadline for Newsom to sign or veto legislation is Sept. 30, the spokesperson said.
The nonprofit Environmental Working Group and the California Medical Association, which represents doctors, supported the bill.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for the dyes banned under AB 2316 date back decades, the environmental nonprofit said. Those approvals were based on old studies not designed to detect behavioral effects in children, the medical association had said in its support of AB 2316.
The Consumer Brands Association, a dye industry representative, opposed the bill because it overrode existing food safety rules, and the group disputed findings about adverse health effects. John Hewlitt, the association’s senior vice president of packaging, sustainability and state affairs, said the bill was “advancing a political agenda.”
“The passage of this bill could cost schools and families money, limit choice and access, and create consumer confusion,” he said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. “The approach taken by California politicians flies in the face of our science and risk-based process and is not the precedent we should be setting when it comes to feeding our families.”
A 2021 state Environmental Protection Agency assessment found American youth diagnosed with ADHD increased in the last 20 years, which prompted the state to look at food dyes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has similarly tracked increases in ADHD diagnoses in children in recent years.
Focusing on seven food dyes, including those that would be banned under AB 2316, state researchers reviewed prior studies on the effects of these dyes in humans and laboratory animals. Findings indicated they were linked to adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in children, and children varied in sensitivity.
On Friday, an FDA spokesperson told NBC News they had reviewed literature cited in California’s legislation. While saying most children have no “adverse effects” when they eat foods with color additives, the spokesperson reportedly said some evidence suggests certain children may be sensitive.
If signed into law, California’s ban would take effect in schools beginning in 2027.
Colorado
Colorado authorities address safety in Aurora community amid growing concerns of Venezuelan gang
![Colorado authorities address safety in Aurora community amid growing concerns of Venezuelan gang Colorado authorities address safety in Aurora community amid growing concerns of Venezuelan gang](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/08/31/4ed4fe73-4112-424c-8b32-be3ee3989334/thumbnail/1200x630/92e6f4833bd4cfc5e6d5ec944ca71029/aurora-apt-gangs-9pkg-frame-515-copy.jpg?v=25685eaa472b1a5dbb5bd46ae506d232)
As panic over Venezuelan gangs in the community continues to spread, Aurora police visited an apartment complex Friday to reassure neighbors that officers are there for them. Meanwhile, the mayor is taking a much tougher approach.
On Friday, the City of Aurora released video of Interim Police Chief Heather Morris and a cadre of officers meeting with residents at an apartment complex that has been at the center of media and online discussions about Venezuelan gang activity.
“We’re out here because we care,” Morris said. “We want to reassure the people who live in this community that we are actively investigating criminal activity and listening to them.”
Earlier in the week, a former resident came forward with security video showing men with large guns and said she doesn’t feel the police are taking the issue seriously.
“There have been so many occasions that I’ve called the police while I’m sitting in my window watching the crime take place, and they will call me and say, ‘I’m sorry, but we’re not coming,’” Cindy Romero said.
Her car was even shot before Aurora City Council Member Danielle Jurinsky helped her find a new place to live. Jurinsky, who has been insisting for weeks that apartments in the city are being overrun by dangerous Venezuelan gangs, says the police and city need to act before someone gets hurt or killed.
“I have had city leaders give interviews, essentially trying to make it seem like I’ve made this entire thing up,” Jurinsky said. “I think that politics is being played here with people’s lives.”
On Friday, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman posted online that the Aurora City Attorney’s Office will request an emergency court order to clear the apartment buildings.
Coffman also noted that while he is ready to take action, the apartment complexes that have experienced the most trouble are owned by the same out-of-state owner and have a history of crime that predates the trouble with the Venezuelan gangs.
Aurora police say it never denied that Venezuelan gangs exist in the city and have a task force to handle the situation, but the department believe the problem is being overstated.
“I’m not saying there are no gang members living in this community, but what we’re learning is that gang members have not taken over this complex,” Morris said.
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