Mars Area School Board is taking legal action against Pennsylvania Department of Education related to its guidelines for teacher training.

“I’d like to make a motion that the Mars Area School District participate in the challenge of the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Culturally Relevant and Sustaining (Education) Program Framework Guidelines,” board member Megan Lenz said the board’s Tuesday, April 4 meeting.

The guidelines require that nine competencies related to cultural perspective and bias be integrated into new and existing teacher training, according to the state’s Department of Education website.

Board members have been weighing this decision since their last meeting March 14.

“Again, I’d like to reiterate my comments from last month,” Lenz said. “I think that the way that these guidelines are worded sets teachers up to be held accountable in a way that doesn’t provide significant amounts of framework for correction.”

Board member Sallie Wick, who seconded the motion, said she believed the guidelines violate the constitutional rights of teachers.

“These teachers’ beliefs are being brought into the curriculum as well when they’re being asked to remove bias and whatnot,” Wick said. “So, I think that, No. 1, it is violating teachers’ rights, making them have to believe certain things, and then also violating students’ rights, with the separation of church and state.”

Board member Anthony DePretis said it would be difficult to maintain the integrity of the district’s curriculum under the guidelines.

“It does ask the teachers to look at the curriculum and any kind of supplemental curriculum materials and to remove bias,” Wick continued. “And, even though they’re going to be supposedly trained on what biased to look for, they’re going to be bringing their own thought process into that, which makes it very subjective.”

The vote to join the litigation was unanimous.