SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
RESOLUTION NO. 4468

RESOLUTION ADVOCATING
FOR AND PROTECTING EACH
OF THE DISTRICT’S STUDENTS

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ON THE MOTION OF Member________, seconded by Member________, the
following resolution is adopted:
WHEREAS, the Sweetwater Union High School District enrolls over 40,000 middle
and high school students, as well as 20,000 adult learners, that come from a variety of
cultural, linguistic and economic backgrounds that reflect California’s cultural richness
and diversity; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Sweetwater Union High School District
is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment by building a culture
of equity and a positive climate that promotes excellence throughout the district (Local
Control and Accountability Plan Goal 2); and
WHEREAS, the Sweetwater Union High School District has been steadfast in its
pledge to promote inclusion and provide a safe and secure environment for each student
and each employee, as evidenced by recently adopted and updated Board Policy (BP)
0410, Nondiscrimination in District Programs and Activities/Title IX, BP 4030,
Nondiscrimination in Employment, and BP 5145.31, Transgender and Nonconforming
Students; and
WHEREAS, as stated in Board Policy 4030, the Sweetwater Union High School
District is determined to provide students, parents, employees, and community members
a safe, positive environment where they are assured of full access and opportunities,
protection from harassment or intimidation, and freedom from any fear of retaliation for
asserting their rights in accordance with law; and
WHEREAS, the Sweetwater Union High School District has embarked upon
growing innovative partnerships with national and regional leaders in equity and inclusion,
including the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, the National Conflict Resolution Center, the
National Equity Project, and the American Civil Liberties Union; and
WHEREAS, our country is grappling with a recently developing climate of
uncertainty about discriminatory practices; and
WHEREAS, the School Superintendents Association (AASA), the American
School Counselor Association, the Gay-Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN),

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December 12, 2016
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the Human Rights Campaign, the National Association of Elementary School Principals,
the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Parent Teacher
Association (PTA), the National School Boards Association, and the National Association
of School Psychologists, have urged school districts across the nation to actively proclaim
and reaffirm that safe, inclusive and equitable learning environments are essential to the
success of each student.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of the
Sweetwater Union High School District is boldly declaring its on-going commitment to
ensuring all schools and district offices are safe and positive environments wherein each
student and each employee is protected from all forms of discrimination, harassment or
intimidation of any kind, be it based on age, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic
information, sex, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic
group identification, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, immigration
status, or the perception of one or more of these characteristics; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the board directs the superintendent, with the
cabinet, administrators, teachers, counselors, and staff, to take all necessary steps to
maintain the safety, inclusion and equity with the school community; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the board directs the superintendent to provide
the necessary outlets for expression, learning, communication and information to the
district community, including encouraging students, families, staff, and community
partners to explore student and individual rights, the history of civics and coalition
building, as well as the struggle to make progress in light of adversity, empowering and
recognizing the importance of student leadership and activism; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the board directs the superintendent and
general counsel to ensure that district policies, regulations and practices will safeguard
the educational rights and protections afforded to students, including, but not limited to,
those found under the 2011 Memorandum from the Department of Homeland Security
classifying schools as sensitive locations where immigration enforcement actions are
prohibited, the State of California’s compliance with the California Trust Act of 2014, and
to immigrant students and their families under the 1982 Supreme Court decision in the
matter of Plyler v. Doe; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the board will continue its advocacy and urge
the superintendent to continue working collaboratively with federal, state, regional and
local government officials, as well as community agencies and community members, and
support forthcoming legislative efforts that affirm the clearly stated values of safety,
inclusion and equity including, 1) continuing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

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December 12, 2016
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(DACA) program, 2) clearly articulate the rights of all students to attend school without
the fear of detention and deportation and 3) to urge the Homeland Security, Immigration
and Customs Enforcement Agency as well as the U.S. Border Patrol to affirm that schools
are now and will forever be sensitive locations where they will not seek to detain and
deport immigrant families who pose no threat to community safety.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Sweetwater Union High School District Board of
Trustees, County of San Diego, State of California, this 12th day of December, 2016, by
the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
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State of California
County of San Diego

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I, Nicholas Segura, President of the Board of Trustees of the Sweetwater Union High
School District of San Diego County, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a
full, true, and correct copy of a resolution duly adopted by said board at a regular meeting
thereof by the vote above stated, which resolution is on file and of record in the office of
said board.
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Nicholas Segura, President
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Arturo Solis, Vice President
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Paula Hall, Member
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Kevin J. Pike, Member
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Frank A. Tarantino, Member

December 12, 2016
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