Investigation underway for 'homophobic photo' of Central CA high school students

VISALIA, Calif. -- A photo circulating on social media has led to an investigation by the Visalia Unified School District in South-Central California.

The picture at the center of it shows a group of about 10 students at Redwood High School wearing shirts with letters and numbers that spell out what the district is calling a "hateful homophobic slur."

"A lot of people at school, including the senior class, are really upset about the ignorant and rash actions of people who were in the photo," says an unnamed Redwood High senior.

The students are all seniors. Officials say the picture was taken Thursday, February 12, during school hours, immediately following a senior class photo shoot.

In the senior photo, the shirts spelled out "Class of 2026 Always Legit" before they rearranged the letters to say the derogatory word.

A Redwood senior tells our sister station ABC30 Action News that the gym was filled with hundreds of students at the time, and says those in the photo were leaders on campus.

"They are widely known in school. They're supposed to be leading by example with the clubs that they run and represent, and people are just really mad because online things can surface really fast," says the Redwood High senior.

The district quickly denounced the students' actions.

The principal released a message the same night, calling the behavior "unacceptable."

An investigation is now underway by both the school campus and the district office.

"We want the whole community to know that this is not representative of our values or the values of any of our school campuses. We also want families to know that there will be consequences for this very serious behavior," says Natali Garza, Executive Director of Student Services.

The impact of the image is far-reaching.

The Source LGBT+ Center, located in Visalia, says they've been inundated with calls since it was posted. They held a youth and community forum on Friday in response.

"Hate speech does have a direct impact on not only student performance, but also students' feelings of isolation, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations. We're seeing kids start to model behaviors that they're seeing in adults engaging, now we're seeing that trickle down into our schools," says Ericka Hawkyard, The Source Visalia Director of Programs.

The district could not specify the punishment for these students, but says they could be facing serious punishment, including suspension and loss of privileges, but it will ultimately be determined by the district's code of conduct.