Discussions are underway at Oklahoma City Public Schools about a potential name change for Cesar Chavez Elementary in light of sexual assault allegations against the labor movement leader.
Districts across the country are preparing to strike Chavez’s name from school buildings and classroom lesson plans following accusations reported in The New York Times that he allegedly sexually abused girls and women, including fellow labor organizer Dolores Huerta. Chavez, who died in 1993, and Huerta, now 95, co-founded a labor union for agricultural workers.
Oklahoma City Board of Education leader Paula Lewis said the board is working to establish a timeline to address the school’s name. The process could take months.
“This remains a priority for the board, and we are committed to a thoughtful and deliberate process that aligns with district policy and reflects the values of our students, staff, families and community,” Lewis said in a statement Tuesday.
The elementary building is the only public school in the state that bears Chavez’s name. It opened in 2011 and serves a student body that is 81% Hispanic.
The board could discuss the matter in an April public meeting, though there’s no recommendation or specific language to share at this time, Lewis said.
Changing a school’s name is typically a “three-to-four-month procedure,” she said.
The board’s policy requires it to convene a committee to review name suggestions before renaming a school building. The district could collect suggestions through community surveys, written proposals from local groups or residents, and community feedback meetings.
For a district facility to be named after a person, he or she “shall have made outstanding contributions to the school community, city, state, country, or world,” according to the board’s policy.
“We’ll start the process, and then it’ll just come down to recommendations from the community,” Lewis told Oklahoma Voice. “We’re definitely going to honor our Latino community. There’s no question.”
The district went through a similar process last year when choosing a name for the newly constructed Skyline Middle School, which is scheduled to open this fall.
It last removed names from schools in 2018 to rebrand three that were originally named after confederate generals. Those schools are now known as Mary Golda Ross Middle School, Adelaide Lee Elementary and Esperanza Elementary.
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