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Fayette County board adds equal-protection sentence while reviewing policy on antisemitism
Summary
Fayette County Public Schools Board unanimously approved adding the sentence "Equal protection is extended to every religion" to Policy 4.100 after debate over whether explicitly naming protections for antisemitism could raise constitutional concerns; the change will be reviewed by legal counsel and TSBA before returning for a second reading.
Harold Rounds, Board Member, proposed and the Fayette County Public Schools Board unanimously adopted a one-sentence amendment to Policy 4.100 (Instructional Program) on March 5, 2026. Rounds moved to add: "Equal protection is extended to every religion," a motion seconded by Board Chairman Warner Speakman and approved without opposition.
The amendment followed public comment from Mickey White, who said the proposed antisemitism language in Policy 4.100 reflected Tennessee School Boards Association guidance and observed that Tennessee law requires school districts to define antisemitism within anti-discrimination policies to prohibit antisemitic harassment and discrimination. "I understood the proposed language regarding antisemitism was based on guidance from the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA)," White told the Board and urged further discussion.
Rounds told colleagues he raised the amendment out of concern that referencing protections for the Jewish faith by name could be read as favoring a single religion under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and he proposed the additional sentence to clarify that protections apply to all religions. The Board discussed both constitutional equal-protection considerations and the statutory requirement noted by TSBA.
Superintendent Dr. Don McPherson confirmed that Tennessee law requires districts to incorporate protections against antisemitic harassment into local policy; Board members agreed the added sentence should be reviewed by legal counsel and TSBA prior to returning to committee for second reading and final adoption.
The Board recorded the motion and vote as part of the meeting minutes; legal review and a subsequent committee review were directed before the policy proceeds toward final adoption.
