A group of ASB senior students at Redwood High School in Visalia took a photo spelling out an anti-gay slur on T-shirts in the school gymnasium, sparking national backlash. The district has confirmed disciplinary action, but some LGBTQ+ students say they feel targeted and silenced.<\/p>\n
Here are key takeaways from this still-developing story:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Eight ASB students wearing T-shirts emblazoned with individual numbers and letters to spell \u201cALWAYS LEGIT, CLASS OF 2026\u201d decided to rearrange themselves along a bleacher row to spell out \u201c2 FAG6OTS\u201d after their senior photo on Feb. 12. According to news reports, the move came after some ASB leaders reacted to two middle-school boys holding hands during an eighth-grade orientation earlier that day.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The involved students have faced \u201cdisciplinary action,\u201d according to the district, but officials said specifics of the investigation \u2014 including how many students were involved or how they were disciplined \u2014 won\u2019t be made public.<\/p>\n
A group of Redwood High School\u2019s ASB students in Visalia are now under investigation for a \u201chomophobic slur\u201d photo incident on Thursday on school campus. <\/p>\n
\u2022 An anonymous Redwood senior told The Fresno Bee that many LGBTQ+ students \u201cfeel kind of invisible or unheard\u201d and that their concern is \u201cnot physical harm, but more of just not being understood or heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Superintendent Kirk Shrum said the district plans to \u201cconvene a roundtable with community leaders who support students in modeling civility and engaging in positive discourse.\u201d Redwood administrators are also meeting with students to address hate speech and civility.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Senior Kevin De Haro said the photo was wrong but expressed concern about backlash against involved students\u2019 families. \u201cI don\u2019t think what they did was right,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I don\u2019t think they should be getting all the hate to their families and stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.<\/p>\n
This story was originally published February 22, 2026 at 1:09 PM.<\/p>\n