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A 'queer, neurodivergent' schoolboard member who frequently wears cat ears has been accused of 'religious prejudice' after she opposed hiring Christian teachers amid concerns they do not offer a safe space for LGBTQ students.
Tamillia Valenzuela hit headlines last week when she lobbied to stop student teachers from Arizona Christian University being hired by the Washington Elementary School District.
Valenzuela alleged the university purported anti-LGBTQ values and claimed 'biblically minded' educators do not 'hold space' for gay and trans pupils.
Her comments have been met with outrage in the district, with one superintendent claiming it was an example of the intolerance she claims to fight against.
'There's nothing more outrageous than religious prejudice,' Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne told Fox News on Thursday.
Washington Elementary School District board member Tamillia Valenzuela has been accused of 'religious prejudice' after she successfully lobbied to ban the hiring of teachers from a Christian university amid concerns they were unsafe to teach LGBTQ students
He said: 'Prejudice of all kinds has been responsible, in my opinion, for almost all of the evil in the history of humankind.
'The person who raised this on the schoolboard describes herself as a 'neurodivergent queer,' and when she says that she expects people to be tolerant of her.
'I'm Jewish and there's an old Jewish expression: 'He who expects respect has to give respect.'
'And this is an absolutely outrageous violation of people's religious rights.'
Last week Arizona senator Anthony Kern demanded the board member resign over her remarks.
'While we're facing a shortage of teachers Valenzuela is impugning the motives of teachers with certain religious beliefs,' he said in a statement.
'This is not what our country was founded on. This is absolute discrimination and somebody like this should not be making decisions for Arizona and Arizona families.'
But her allies have staunchly defended her stance, with many planning to wear cat ears to a school meeting on Thursday night in solidarity.
Valenzuela describes herself as a 'bilingual, disabled, neurodivergent Queer Black Latina who loves a good hot wing (but only with the right ranch) and things that sparkle.' She adds that she is a 'wife and mother' who has lived in the state for 12 years.
Valenzuela won an election onto the Washington Elementary
