West Valley High School officials have responded to the many comments on Facebook concerning a change in the senior portrait section of the school yearbook.
A Facebook post says the school works to create safe classrooms "where personal attacks are not acceptable." They say many of the comments have "become personal, mean-spirited and do not reflect the kind of discourse we wish to model or support."

School officials says when school begins they'll use this as a chance to teach students how to handle a controversial subject. They'll talk about how to work toward a solution together.
School officials encourage parents to remind students that bullying and personal attacks aren't the way to "get what they want."

Students have also started an online petition to convince the school to reverse the change. They say they'd rather have fundraisers for those who can't afford pictures rather than take the individuality away from students in how they look in senior pictures.

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Previous Coverage

West Valley High School is making a big change in senior yearbook portraits and lots of people are reacting to the change. School officials say not everyone can hire a professional photographer for senior yearbook portraits. They say that's created a difference in the quality of pictures in the book. As a result the school says it will provide the same professional photography to all students for the yearbook portrait free of charge. They say the action will create equity among all students.
The school is hiring a professional photographer and will also provide tuxes and dresses in order to create what the school says are "uniform and professional" portraits.
The change was the idea of Yearbook students and supported by 2020 class officers. The senior portraits will be taken in January.

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