JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Duval County school principal prohibited teachers from showing President Donald Trump's inauguration in their classrooms.
Friday's swearing-in ceremony was seen by millions of people around the world. But at Sable Palm Elementary, students were not allowed to watch the live coverage while in class.
A teacher at the school on Kernan Boulevard North, who did not want to be identified, contacted News4Jax, saying she and her fellow teachers were upset after they were warned by Principal Linda Graham not to show the presidential inauguration due to the nationwide controversy surrounding it.
School district administrators gave each principal discretion to decide if the inauguration would be viewed in their schools.
"They should have at least sent out a flyer or something and let the parents decide what the parent should be allowed to watch or not watch," said parent Jake Weiland.
Parents had mixed reactions to the principal's decision.
“I can see where that could be a bone of contention with a lot of parents. My child is in the first grade, so do I want to risk her hearing something inappropriate being stated by a man who continually says inappropriate things publicly? No," said parent Anna Phillips.
Duval County Public Schools issued the following statement in response:
"The decision to show the inauguration was a school based decision handled by the principal. In this case, the principal felt more comfortable having parents give permission to view the inauguration during instructional time. Additionally, there were no requests from parents or students to watch or not watch the inauguration."
But some argued the live coverage of the inauguration could have been a teaching moment for students.
“I don’t think that’s fair. They should have shown them," said parent Kelley Dixon. “(It's) a changing of power, going from one party to the next, and children need to be involved. They need to understand what’s going on."
Though she didn't want her child to see the live coverage of the inauguration in class, Phillips said, she was not opposed to her daughter viewing a recording of the inauguration at home with her family.