MIDLAND, Texas — Parents are questioning Midland ISD after a particular statement was written in a 7th grade English class syllabus at Alamo Junior High.
It reads, "This is an ENGLISH class, therefore, no other languages are allowed to be spoken during my class. This includes Spanish, Burmese, French, Portuguese, etc."
One parent tells NewsWest 9 she's mad at herself for not reading through her daughter's syllabus more thoroughly before signing off on it.
Another parent's reaction: "OMG! I am speechless!"
A third parent says they find it rude how this syllabus was written, saying in part, "There should be nicer ways to talk about other languages use in the class."
All of these parents say this wording means something different when English isn't a first language.
When asked about the syllabus, Midland ISD released the following statement:
The statement in this document does not reflect the values of MISD. We want all of our scholars to feel comfortable in the classroom, including language of personal expression. This incident is being investigated and will be handled administratively.
The district also says "Syllabi should be reviewed by department heads and campus administration. We will be evaluating our review process to understand what happened in this circumstance. We value all our learners and the diversity of experience they bring to our district."