A school district board in Oregon voted Tuesday to ban clothing, flags and other content that referenced Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, and political parties from its campuses.

The Newberg Public Schools board voted 4-3 to ban the content.

"The main goal of this is to get political symbols and divisive symbols out of our schools so we can focus on the already difficult task of educating our students in the core subjects," said school board director and vice-chair Brian Shannon.

Superintendent Joe Morelock says the ban will not be final until he can meet with the district’s lawyers.

Some members of the Newberg School District had expressed their opposition to the new ban and signed a petition to stop it from going through.

District school board member Brandy Penner said the top schools in the state have diversity coordinators and diversity statements. School districts that are not doing as well have a “lack of anything to do with equity."

"This feels so draconian ... this feels so anti-everything, anti-free speech, anti-free expression, anti-safety," Penner said.

Ines Pena, a board member who wore a Black Lives Matter shirt and rainbow headband during the meeting, said she does not think the students had enough say in the decision.

"When these students enter our schools and see the symbols that we mean to communicate love and support and affirmation, they don't see propaganda or indoctrination or any ideology," Newberg schools counselor Joshua Reid said.

The Legislative Black, Indigenous, People of Color Caucus released a statement showing support for school board directors who want to delay the vote until the public can comment.

"Rushing through these decisions to restrict the symbols educators can display in classrooms weeks before the school year begins is divisive and wrong," the statement read.

The board is expected to discuss new terms or a “replacement language” for its anti-racism policy and its “Every Student Belongs” policy which would add the ban to its already prohibited hate symbols (including the swastika, the Confederate flag and a noose) in a later meeting scheduled for August.

The school board has plans to challenge the state's mask mandate, as well.