Kindergarten parent Emmanuel Torres approached the Whitehall-Coplay School Board during its regular meeting April 22.

Torres was the parent from the Jan. 22 school board meeting who was unhappy to see an LGBTQIA+ flag hanging in his son’s kindergarten music class.

“It is inappropriate to display due to the fact of what the flag is defined as - an expression of sexual identity and preference,” Torres said in January.

Exactly four months later, Torres is continuing the conversation.

“How does an alternate flag tie into a 5-year-old kindergarten music class?” Torres asked.

Torres’ comments come after a meeting earlier in April, where the board agreed to keep flag policies as is. Board members felt teachers should know what is right and what is wrong inside a classroom, and Whitehall-Coplay School District will monitor what’s being displayed in the same manner they always have.

Torres recommended the board change the policy, adding, “The policy proposal would read as ‘no flag or image of a flag other than American or state flags can be presented to students during school days and hours,” Torres said. “The most inclusive flag here is the American flag.”

Torres continued to cite one of the board members who allegedly said hanging the LGBTQIA+ flag is a symbol of a “safe space” for students.

“You have educators exposing controversy to children at a very, very young age. I don’t know how that makes them safe,” Torres said. “I’d rather see more police officers on campus rather than a piece of ideology hung up. That doesn’t make my 5-year-old any safer.”

The board did not discuss the flag policy much further. Torres urged the board members to contact him if needed.

“You all have my email and access to my phone number. I’d be more than happy to have a conversation with anybody here,” Torres said.