Drama teacher Liz Pullman and parents press Whitehall board after district bars school‑branded performance of suicide‑themed play

Liz Pullman, the high‑school drama teacher, told the Whitehall School District board that her students have rehearsed the play I Don't Want to Talk About It for months and were cleared to attend a state Thespian festival but were told they could not present the production to the community as the school play. Pullman said she sought reviews through the Office of Public Instruction and the Department of Public Health and Human Services and that guidance she received was inconsistent; she called the timing—after months of rehearsal—a process failure.

District administrators, including the superintendent and Principal Jason Slater, said they could not approve the production as a school‑branded performance because it did not meet the district's and OPI's expectations for suicide‑prevention content and supports. The superintendent said they consulted state suicide‑prevention guidance and that Carl Roston, the state suicide prevention coordinator, “did not recommend any type of suicide‑specific performance being done for a student body,” a conclusion that shaped the decision. Slater told the board he supports drama and the students but defended the assessment that the school lacked the necessary supports to present the play to a student audience.

Community members pushed back. Dory Westhoven read a letter from playwright Bradley Hayward saying the play has been produced worldwide and that “If I had not seen this play, I would not be alive,” urging the district to allow productions with appropriate supports. Parents asked whether the district could provide opt‑in notices to families, similar to other curricular permissions, and pressed administrators to explain why the review occurred after rehearsals had begun.

School leaders proposed alternatives: present the production as a community theater event (not a school production) with a facility‑use agreement and clear parent choice, or revise the script and add pre‑ and post‑performance resources to meet OPI recommendations. The superintendent said appeals can be made to the superintendent and the board; no formal policy change was adopted at the meeting, and the board did not vote on reversing the decision during the session.