School district says it instructed staff members to be more inclusive in holiday decorations.

Despite report, Oregon school district says it is not banning Santa

An Oregon school district is responding to a media report that suggested it was ‘banning Santa’ from schools for the holiday season. Officials with the Hillsboro School District say they are not ‘banning’ anything, only asking for staff members to be more inclusive when it comes to holiday decorations. This comes after an internal memo was sent to employees in the district’s central office, saying that a door decorating contest would not be held due to some staff members and visitors not feeling welcome due to the ‘overwhelming’ Christmas atmosphere. The district says this memo was shared with school administrators as a reminder to be inclusive when decorating for the holiday season. Administrators shared the memo with their staff, some of whom, sent the memo to members of the media. District officials maintain they never planned on banning Santa, nor did they intend on policing any holiday decorations in school buildings, “unless they were blatantly over the top.” Officials say there are no policies on the issue of holiday decorations. The memo was simply a reminder to create an inclusive and welcoming space for students, staff and visitors of all backgrounds

An Oregon school district is responding to a media report that suggested it was ‘banning Santa’ from schools for the holiday season.

Officials with the Hillsboro School District say they are not ‘banning’ anything, only asking for staff members to be more inclusive when it comes to holiday decorations.


This comes after an internal memo was sent to employees in the district’s central office, saying that a door decorating contest would not be held due to some staff members and visitors not feeling welcome due to the ‘overwhelming’ Christmas atmosphere.

The district says this memo was shared with school administrators as a reminder to be inclusive when decorating for the holiday season. Administrators shared the memo with their staff, some of whom, sent the memo to members of the media.

District officials maintain they never planned on banning Santa, nor did they intend on policing any holiday decorations in school buildings, “unless they were blatantly over the top.”

Officials say there are no policies on the issue of holiday decorations. The memo was simply a reminder to create an inclusive and welcoming space for students, staff and visitors of all backgrounds