Iowa shows why we must defend K-12 education from DEI
As the national spotlight continues to shine on Des Moines Public Schools and the curious case of Ian Roberts, lingering in the shadows is a deeper problem: K-12 education’s troubling love affair with race essentialism and advancing far-left ideologies.
Regardless of whether the board’s motivation in hiring Roberts was related to race, what is clear is that he and the district were big advocates of pushing a diversity, equity and inclusion agenda. Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common theme that has permeated board rooms, conference rooms, and hiring committees from coast to coast.
For years, school districts have scrambled to implement a wide range of left-wing social justice policies and procedures, particularly when it comes to hiring and retention practices.
Hiding behind the “best practices” claim that student learning is optimal from teachers who share the same skin color and “lived experiences,” districts have established goals and crafted methods to screen, hire, and retain faculty and staff based on identity and adherence to ideologies such as DEI and antiracism.
In the case of Des Moines Public Schools, the district’s affirmative action plan established recruitment goals, including an increase in the “number of teachers of color in kindergarten by 8 percent” and the “number of teachers of color in second grade by 5 percent.”
The district also created what it called a “Blue Contract,” which gives new teachers the opportunity to earn a master’s in Culturally Responsive Leadership “free of charge” through Drake University. The program focuses on “building a strong foundation in equity and cultural proficiency.”
But it’s not only Des Moines Public Schools that is implementing these programs. Many districts across Iowa feature affirmative action plans which include race and sex-based hiring goals, require racial representation on hiring committees, and race-based teacher training programs.
For instance, Waterloo Community School District’s plan features “Teach Waterloo,” a program in conjunction with the University of Northern Iowa that “provides financial resources and resilience support for Waterloo staff of color seeking a teaching certification.”
Unfortunately, these practices are not limited to just a handful of districts in Iowa but have become standard in one form or another in states across the union. For example, Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky states in its “racial equity policy” that the district will “attract, recruit, hire, and retain staff and leadership that more closely reflect the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the student body of the district.” The district’s “Affirming Racial Equity Tool” (now pulled offline) defined “diverse” as “pertaining to any and all cultures that are NOT heterosexual, male-centered, white, Western, and/or Christian.”
Meanwhile, California’s La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District's equity policy states that it is “imperative” that the district workforce “represent the diversity of our students and families” and set a goal of increasing the “diversity of the workforce in at least 75 percent of new hires.” A 2021 district hiring practices guide adds that the first round of applicants should be screened using “redacted statements of contributions to justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Some districts post on their front-facing websites the intent to hire based on race or screen applicants for their commitment to far-left ideologies. For example, University Place School District in Washington declares that when administration is “unable to hire educators of color to open positions,” the district “still plans to emphasize cultural responsiveness and competence in the people we hire.”
Similarly, Brighton Central Schools in New York posted that job applicants were required to submit a “Diversity Statement” that shows their “past and current efforts, as well as, future plans to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion” in the district.
Not only do these plans focus on hiring, but they often include retention efforts as well. For example, Bellingham Public Schools in Washington state released an affirmative action report that prioritizes retaining “staff of color” to meet diversity goals through various efforts such as identity-based affinity groups and negotiating with the teachers union to protect staff of color from reductions in force.
These policies and practices not only raise concerns about legality but also prioritize characteristics that have no real bearing on the effectiveness and ability of educators to teach students to read or do math. Education leaders and K-12 administrators should not have the liberty to violate moral and legal standards to advance far-left anti-meritocratic ideologies.
The fallout continues in Des Moines thanks to its surprising choice of superintendent. But there needs to be a broader focus from parents, state officials, and the federal government on exposing questionable, unethical, and possibly illegal hiring and retention practices implemented by districts. The Roberts saga should be the first of many investigations into a deeply corrupted education system.
Rhyen Staley is the director of research for Defending Education. He has 15 years of experience as a public and private school teacher and coach at the middle, high school and college level. He is also the father of two school aged children.