Brookline Officials Flout Title VI and MA Public Records Law, Putting Federal Funds at Risk

School Committee and Brookline High School Dismiss Families' Concerns

OPINION

The Brookline School Committee, Brookline High School, and the Office of Town Counsel all appear to have a cavalier attitude toward multiple laws, with the most serious issue potentially being apparent lack of knowledge or lack of respect for Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Under Title VI and the corresponding Executive Order 13899, compliance with which is required for receipt of federal funding, Jews are a protected minority class.

Despite this, School Committee Chair Andy Liu has stated in public comment that Jewish parents expressing concerns about antisemitism at Brookline High School were an organized group making some students at Brookline High School unsafe.

Liu offered no evidence of the concerned parents being organized and offered no evidence of any credible threat or risk to any students’ safety. Conspiracies and danger to others are part of centuries-old antisemitic tropes.

Brookline High School Head of School Anthony Meyer has repeatedly dismissed Jewish parents’ and teachers’ concerns, downplaying any bias in the saying “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” irrefutably a call for the destruction of the State of Israel, as well as defending, in writing, the planned delivery to a large, in-school gathering of remarks that might contain bigoted content, writing:

To be clear, some of this programming can be hard. Speakers often share stories of challenging experiences and might offer perspectives that others do not agree with or that make them uncomfortable. More specifically, sometimes speakers say things that are thought-provoking, disruptive, challenging, and, at times, hurtful.

There may be some schools where students only hear repeated, sanitized opinions that never challenge beliefs. There may be some schools that only hold events guaranteed to not offend anyone and therefore say little or nothing. The “Days of” events continue the long tradition of Brookline High School learning that pushes students, challenges students, provokes students, and sometimes even angers students. In other words, it is part of our long tradition of educating students.

I share all this knowing that this year’s Day of Racial Reform and Solidarity programming will be difficult for some members of our community. This weighs heavily on the organizers, my senior team, and me. I hope we can hear different, and sometimes difficult, perspectives and engage with contrary thoughts and beliefs. This is part of the work we try to do with this day and our “Days of” programming more generally.

Meyer and other staff appear to believe that they can withhold from the public pre-recorded video statements or speeches that will be presented to students as part of the “Day of Racial Reform and Solidarity” programming scheduled to start today.

This position appears to be at odds with the MA Public Records Law, which states that public records include “All books, papers, maps, photographs, recorded tapes, financial statements, statistical tabulations, or other documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by a governmental entity unless such materials or data fall within one or more of the exemptions found within G. L. c. 4, § 7(26) or other legally applicable privileges.”

Meanwhile, the Office of Town Counsel appears to be stymying a public records request regarding certain communications which might be related to antisemitic communications from the district, despite such communications not appearing to fall under any of the exemptions in the Public Records Law.