It was like a slice of Texas on the other side of Lake Washington.

Bellevue School District officials didn't let students watch President Obama's live address to students on the morning of September 8. The previous Friday, before leaving for the long weekend, superintendent Amalia Cudeiro decided to ban—or at least suspend—the president's speech.

Cudeiro posted a notice on the district's website stating that curriculum staff would record the broadcast and "the tape will be made available to any teacher who wants to use it in a balanced discussion, so long as it fits within the education objectives of the class." She sent district staff a message saying that, when she made the decision, "none of us had seen the script of the speech and we received multiple contacts from parents and community members who were concerned that this was going to be a political speech rather than just a motivational one."

But school-district spokeswoman Ann Oxrieder says officials had no evidence that the speech would contain inappropriate content. "The text wasn't up when the decision was made," she said. She reiterated that the decision to block the address was entirely a response to parents who believed that Obama "is sending a message that isn't appropriate for our kids."

The specter of a politicized message from Obama clearly stemmed from an uproar fabricated the previous week by right-wing pundits, including Glenn Beck of Fox News, who called the speech an attempt at "indoctrination." Numerous schools and school districts—including the Arlington Independent School District near Dallas, Texas—banned the address outright.

But several Seattle-area school districts didn't block the speech. Some let parents or students opt out; others defended the speech as valuable curriculum, such as the Lake Washington School District, which posted a notice from the superintendent calling it "an appropriate educational activity."

Was the Bellevue School District concerned that objections were based not on fact, which schools teach, but on rumors and speculation stoked by the radical right?

"At that time, nobody had time to research," says Oxrieder. "We just knew that people were saying it was going to be a political message. We didn't know where it was coming from." But she notes that several parents also called in support of the speech.

So what subversive message did Obama deliver to students who got to see his speech? He told them to wash their hands to avoid the flu, pay attention to teachers, and work hard. But then Obama strayed into unpresidential territory when he closed with a phrase that strikes fear in conservative hearts: "God bless you, and God bless America."