An Illinois teacher’s lawsuit claims her school district’s “equity” policies violate federal civil rights laws and the U.S. Constitution.
According to a Heritage Foundation report, the Southeastern Legal Foundation’s suit on behalf of teacher Stacy Deemar claims Evanston/Skokie School District 65 taught that “to be less white is to be less racially oppressive.”
It also taught that “white identity is inherently racist” and that “teachers who disagree with these principles are ‘racists.’”
Further, the suit alleges the district claimed that asserting everyone is equal actually “helps racism,” racially “shamed” teachers via activities like “privilege walks,” and made use of racially segregated “affinity groups.”
Those “affinity groups” were the subject of a U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights complaint during the Trump administration. The office had determined that they are “discriminatory and a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
The new Biden DOE has since suspended that ruling.
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Title VI expressly prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, which would include educational institutions funded through the Department of Education.
The implementing regulations of Title VI prohibit a recipient of federal funding from providing any service or other benefit to a student that is different, or provided in a different manner, than to another student on the basis of race. …
Despite that, and the requirement that it adhere to the edicts of Title VI, District 65 is open about why it thinks its “racial and educational equity policy” is needed, stating:
“The purpose of this policy is to establish a framework for the elimination of bias, particularly racism and cultural bias, as factors affecting student achievement and learning experiences, and to promote learning and working environments that welcome, respect, and value diversity.
“Further, the purpose is to establish particular actions that District 65 shall take to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, to address disparities in educational opportunity and achievement while understanding the urgency with which we must move to support Black, Latinx (sic), and multiracial students.
“District 65 is committed to focusing on race as one of the first visible indicators of identity … .”
The superintendent of District 65, Devon Horton, said last fall that educators shouldn’t even be eligible for a teaching license unless they’ve undergone “anti-racism” training: “If you’re not antiracist, we can’t have you in front of our students.”
MORE: Students told to hide ‘equity survey’ from their parents
IMAGE: Maksim Kabakou / Shutterstock.com
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