Parents Outraged After PA District Cancels Traditional Halloween Parade over ‘Inclusivity,’ Safety Concerns

The annual elementary school Halloween parades of a Pennsylvania school district have been scrapped due to “inclusivity” and “safety” considerations, leading to an uproar on the part of disappointed parents.

The Lower Merion School District of Southeastern Pennsylvania has canceled its planned Halloween parades due to “inclusivity” and “safety” concerns, according to Philadelphia’s 6 ABC Action News.

The outlet reported that letters were sent out to families by school administrators last week informing families that the annual parades would no longer take place at any of the district’s six elementary schools.

The decision has led parents to speak out on the matter, saying the Montgomery County school district’s move is extreme.

The scrapped parades, which have been held by the district for over fifty years, will be replaced with fall-themed activities within the classroom.

Amy Buckman, the director of school and community relations for the Lower Merion School District, was quoted as saying they “continue to work with local law enforcement and county experts about what’s best.”

She also argued that not all of the district’s students celebrate Halloween, and those who do not had to remain in the library during past parades.

“We looked at all of that and we said, ‘Are the parades really that important to the students?’ And the answer we came up with is ‘not really,’” Buckman was quoted as saying.

In response, some parents expressed outrage over the move.

“I feel like it’s just crossing the line and where does it end?” asked Linda Joseph, a parent in the school district. “So, next people are going to be offended by pumpkins? So we’re going to take away pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns or pumpkin carving?”

Another parent, Rachel Gutman, claimed that such cautionary moves are limitless.

“There’s danger in every possible venue in every possible way. So what are you going to do? Cancel everything?” she asked. “I don’t know.”

Christina Nicolosi, a mother with two children at Merion Elementary, said she was “nervous” the canceling could serve as a “gateway” to more extreme actions.

“What’s the next thing that we’re going to be taking away from the kids? Is Valentine’s Day on the chopping block next?” she asked.

“Halloween is almost in the same category as Thanksgiving. It’s a secular holiday,” she added. “And I just feel like we’re stripping the joy from elementary school and it’s kind of sad.”

Karin Fox, a parent of a district graduate, described the new policy as a “virtue signal” and a form of “hypocrisy,” adding that people she knows with children enrolled are fearful to protest publicly.

“This is so typical for this district — say one thing, do another,” she said. “Appearances over meaningful implementation. Ignore the big, very real issues and eliminate Halloween parades.”

“Will they be canceling recess? School sports — soccer, baseball, lacrosse, etc. What about kids who don’t make those teams?” she added. “Are they no longer inclusive?”

Others took to Twitter to criticize the school district’s decision.

“I hate to sound like a grumpy old man (which I’ve become) or even a Republican (which I’m not!) but this idea that kids can’t be in a setting where every adult has been screened seems bat-guano insane,” wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Will Bunch.

“Karens against Halloween,” wrote one Twitter user.

“Shame on the LM school board. So political,” wrote another.

My kids attended Lower Merion schools and they have such fond memories of those Halloween parades. Even the teachers enjoyed seeing the kids dressed up. Shame on the LM school board. So political.

— Ernie Barbieri (@ErnieBarbieri) October 11, 2022

“Will Lower Merion be canceling the 10/29 home football game in the name of safety or only the Halloween parade?” another user wrote. “Have to keep the kids safe from the mean streets of the Main Line.”

“I see that Lower Merion Schools have canceled Halloween parades for concerns over ‘inclusivity’ as some students don’t celebrate Halloween,” wrote yet another. “Can we apply that logic to Pride festival stuff?” 

“My non-gay friends don’t celebrate that, so feel ‘excluded,’” the user added. “Asking for a friend.”

This is not the first time schools have expressed concern that Halloween might offend certain children.

Last year, several elementary schools decided to cancel the holiday.

In Seattle, Washington, Benjamin Franklin Day Elementary School canceled Halloween because the Racial Equity Team claimed it “marginalizes students of color who do not celebrate the holiday.”

In a statement to KTTH, a Seattle Public Schools spokeswoman said the school’s pumpkin parade makes “students of color” feel isolated, telling parents and students to partake in Halloween festivities elsewhere.

In East Lansing, Michigan, as many as “six elementary schools” canceled Halloween festivities due to the holiday’s apparent lack of inclusivity. 

As City Pulse reported, principals from Donley, Marble, Whitehills and Robert L. Green elementary schools sent a joint letter to parents this week saying that school district officials expressed concern that celebrating Halloween could have “unintended consequences.” 

However, not all attempts to cancel Halloween last year were as successful. 

Princeton, New Jersey’s Riverside Elementary School reversed its decision to cancel festivities after a significant backlash from parents.

Incidents of schools canceling Halloween celebrations have accelerated in the past decade, often for politically correct reasons. 

In 2019, Evanston/Skokie School District 65 in Evanston, Illinois, canceled Halloween celebrations, saying they alienate certain members of the staff and student body.

That same year, North Country Elementary in Antelope, California, told CBS Sacramento the school would be celebrating a “harvest festival” instead of Halloween.

“We have consistently respected the right of families to choose to have their children participate, or not, in such celebrations,” the school said at the time. “However, when the number of students choosing to not participate becomes significant, it is incumbent on the school leadership to re-evaluate and determine if the event is truly meeting the social and academic needs of its student population.”

In 2017, the Boyden Elementary School in Walpole, Massachusetts, also canceled Halloween for not being “inclusive enough.”