Community member urges district to protect and better support ESL students

At the public forum during the May 13 Salina Public Schools Board meeting, community member Alma (last name not provided) spoke for three minutes on behalf of ESL students and families, urging the district to provide better, fair treatment and appropriate instructional supports.

Alma said she was “here to represent the ESL students, especially from high school” and described education efforts she credited from historical examples, then asked the board “to give ESL students a decent place, not to see them as a burden.” She listed concerns, including teachers who “don’t understand their culture,” a lack of trauma‑informed training, curricula that do not teach English construction, and instances where students were “punished by teachers.”

Alma also asserted that “forbidding them from speaking their language is not acceptable and it is illegal,” and said some students have received “racist comments from teachers.” She asked the district to “hold any staff member who dares to discriminate or make racist comments accountable.”

The board thanked Alma for her remarks and said it values community input. No board action was taken during the public forum, and speakers at public forum were reminded that the board typically does not respond during that agenda item; the district’s public‑comment guidelines were read aloud at the start of the public‑forum period.

These remarks were presented as a public comment and no allegations were investigated or adjudicated during the meeting. The board did not announce any immediate follow‑up steps in open session.