New York Officials: Schools Have a Duty to Put DEI at ‘Center of Their Educational Decisions’
“cannot meet their legal obligations unless they place DEI at the center of their work”
The left is still doubling down on these policies. They do not care what the public thinks.
Campus Reform reports:
State officials say NY schools have an ‘obligation’ to promote DEI
The State of New York released an 11-page guidance letter reminding Local Education Agencies and the state Board of Regents of their obligations to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies.
In the Aug. 9 letter, State Attorney General Letitia James and Commissioner of Education Betty A. Rosa described an expectation for all school districts and universities to develop and implement “policies and practices that advance the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
The letter reminded educators they were expected to “implement such policies and practices with fidelity and urgency”; they also emphasized an “obligation to place dignity, inclusion, and respect at the center of their educational decisions.”
The new board policies outlined an initiative to promote DEI in all public schools and universities across the state. Because of this policy, the guidance letter reminded public schools that they “cannot meet their legal obligations unless they place DEI at the center of their work.”
Several of these instructions stemmed from the Dignity for All Students Act (Dignity Act), which was signed into law in 2010, and the new “robust DEI policy,” which was adopted by the Board of Regents in May 2021.
The Dignity Act amended the education law to expand policies on tolerance and sensitivity towards different groups of people. Within this policy change, the word “gender” was modified to include “a person’s gender identity or expression.”
In order to ensure “a safe and supportive environment for transgender and nonbinary students,” the letter pointed to a legal update that states: “All students and staff should be addressed by the name and gender pronouns they have expressed.”
The guidance also addressed “gender-segregated facilities, like bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing areas, and how to create a welcoming environment for transgender students.”
“It is an unlawful discriminatory practice for an educational institution, including a public school, to deny the use of its facilities to any person because of… gender identity and expression,” it stated.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
I keep saying the issue here is one of Progressive religion. And here’s another exhibit. Demanding compliance with ideology. It’s demanding a statement of faith to even be considered as a teacher.
Footnote 11, referring to the supposed obligation to affirmatively advance DEI, relies only on 2014 (Obama era) precedents. At least some of this guidance was reversed during the Trump administration. I think if they were serious they would have discussed more recent Dept. of Ed. guidance and legal rulings.
This seems very weak to me, hoping that people won’t read carefully. Likely, the more aggressive aspects of this guidance can be ignored, and the guidance’s statements that school boards cannot follow the wishes of district voters are substantially wrong.
That’s footnote 11 of this letter, also linked in the article above. https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/diversity-equity-inclusion/oag-nysed-dei-guidance.pdf
Also from the letter, there’s a supposed research finding stating that
“The use of exclusionary discipline (i.e., removing students from their learning environment) adversely impacts school climate overall, fails to make students feel safer, and can have a negative effect on other students’ academic performance and achievement”
when we all know that when a school is violent and disrupted, usually there are just a few students who can be removed, and then the whole place settles down and everyone else can learn and be less concerned for their physical safety.
Well, it only applies in New York, and no one considers them to be salvageable anyway.
Just wait. The worm will turn!
DEI. God in Latin. God in irony.