Laguna Beach superintendent: cannot discuss specifics of campus dispute; stresses free‑speech rules and teacher guidance

Dr. Jason Glass, superintendent of Laguna Beach Unified School District, told listeners of the Fair Game Laguna program that he could not discuss the specifics of a recent on‑campus incident involving student conduct because of student privacy protections, but described how the district approaches disputes that raise free‑speech concerns.

The matter was first raised on the program by the host, who described a reported campus incident in which one student removed another student's political hat and placed it in a trash can; the host said the incident led to suspensions. Glass said he could “neither confirm nor deny” those facts on air and declined to discuss individual students or disciplinary details.

Glass said schools must balance protecting students’ free expression with maintaining safety and decorum. “Protecting free expression is part of what we do,” he said, and added that public schools also have “a critical role … in helping students navigate different points of view and how to be respectful of those and how to disagree with those in respectful ways.”

He told the program that state law specifies permissible reasons for student suspension and that schools must consider whether lesser disciplinary approaches were available. “There are established reasons for suspending students that are in state law,” Glass said, and schools must also determine whether other disciplinary options should have been applied.

Glass described the district’s instructional guidance for teachers: decisions about whether to discuss a controversial event in class are made on a case‑by‑case basis by the teacher and the administrator, and the district provides support materials and talking points to staff. He said educators should first judge whether a news event “is part of the curriculum” before engaging students, surface facts, allow divergent perspectives and model civility.

Alex Wenagi, mayor of Laguna Beach and a guest on the program, emphasized that students should not face discrimination for political beliefs. “Nobody should feel like they are discriminated against on the basis of their political beliefs,” Wenagi said.

Glass framed classroom responses as civic education: teach students how to think about an issue rather than what to think. He described recent national events that complicated school conversations the week of the incident — including the murder of public commentator Charlie Kirk and a separate school shooting in Evergreen, Colorado — and said educators must weigh context and timing when deciding whether to pause instruction or hold discussions.

Because Glass declined to confirm case details on air, the program did not establish the number of students disciplined or the specific sanctions. Those personnel and discipline records are protected; Glass said the district follows applicable privacy and disciplinary statutes when addressing incidents.

The district’s next public steps on this matter were not specified on the program. Glass said the district will continue to provide guidance to educators and parents about handling controversial issues in ways that protect student rights and model civil discourse.