Plan B Forum

Was a 5th Grader Kicked Out of His Elementary School for Saying a Local Newscaster Resembles Barack Obama?
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 10:53am by Dave Urbanski


The guy dressed in the suit and tie, smiling and shaking a bevy of hands, caught Grayson Thomas’ eye.

Grayson wasn’t alone. Teachers and other students at Stevenson Ranch Elementary School couldn’t take their eyes off the lunchtime visitor, either.

Grayson, a fifth-grader at the campus near Santa Clarita, Ca., noticed the gentleman’s outward characteristics: Tall and lean. Good looking. Charismatic. Charming. Energetic.

Then he made a fatal error: Grayson, 11, pulled a little “made you look” joke on a schoolmate seated next to him, saying something along the lines of “Obama’s visiting our school today,” referring to the magnetic figure holding court nearby.

It wasn’t Obama, of course. But from Grayson’s point of view, Chris Schauble—morning co-anchor of KTLA 5′s TV news program in Los Angeles—did possess a demeanor and countenance similar to the president’s.

According to Grayson’s dad, Darren Thomas (who provided the previous details), what happened next was scary: Word of his son’s Obama-Schauble comparison spread to Schauble’s daughter, Shelbi, who was sharing lunch with her newsman father. And Shelbi was uncomfortable with Grayson’s statement, saying it felt racist.

Then a teacher was summoned, then the principal, Candace Fleece, then the Newhall School District superintendent, Marc Winger. And that very afternoon, Nov. 4, Grayson was kicked out of Stevenson Ranch for good, his father says, for implying that all black men look alike.

The Blaze asked school officials and Schauble for comment to little avail. Schauble did not respond to interview requests. School board president Suzan T. Solomon noted “regret” over “misinformation out in the press” regarding the ordeal but declined further comment. Fleece’s office referred the matter to Winger, who offered that “there are two sides to every story” but declined further comment, citing student confidentiality issues. He provided the following statement:

The Newhall School District regrets that untrue statements have appeared in the media. The District adheres to the privacy requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) as amended (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), California Education Code sections 49062 et seq., Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution and all other applicable federal and state laws and regulations that safeguard a student’s educational records, privacy and confidentiality.

Winger apparently revealed a bit more to a local radio news site, which quoted him as saying, “It’s not what [Grayson] said, it’s how he said it…I can tell you that there was history and that the student had been counseled and we met with the parents.”

It’s besides the point, says Darren Thomas, that neither Winger, Fleece, nor Solomon—not even Schauble or his daughter—were within earshot to evaluate “how” his son originally stated his Obama-lookalike comment. The kicker, Darren says, is that school officials had no basis for determining that Grayson’s comparison implied that all black men look alike. And then they punished him.

“How can you assume the intent of a child?” Darren asked. “This is the thought police. [They're] not God; [their] bureaucratic brain melted into a mush of political correctness.”




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This is political correctness in the schools run amok and the so-called "racism" issue doesn't hold water. I am so glad that my kids are out of CA K-12 indoctrination centers schools!

My younger daughter desires to enter the teaching field (private school, of course). Dealing with the hyper-sensitivity that is rampant in CA schools would drive any clear-thinking and intelligent person running for cover. I wish her well in her career pursuit and stay the HELL out of the public school system here in CA.