اینترنت

برچسب: diversity

  • Federal judge dismisses case claiming community college diversity policies infringe on academic freedom

    Federal judge dismisses case claiming community college diversity policies infringe on academic freedom


    Bill Blanken, a chemistry professor at Reedley College, claims that a diversity and equity policy in California’s community colleges amounts to a “loyalty oath.”

    Photo courtesy of Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

    A federal judge has dismissed a case filed on behalf of professors claiming that California Community Colleges diversity and equity policies infringe on their academic freedom.

    Professors at State Center Community College District, based in Fresno, had, in a suit filed in August 2023, sought to block the California Community Colleges from enforcing diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion (DEIA) principles. 

    But U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff, a Biden appointee who joined the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in 2024, wrote in an order Tuesday that the plaintiffs “failed to allege that there exists a credible threat of enforcement of the regulations against them.”

    The plaintiff’s attorney, Daniel Ortner, with the free-speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), said he was reviewing the decision and discussing it with his clients.

    In 2022, the board of governors for the California Community Colleges adopted regulations requiring all 73 of its local districts to evaluate employees, including faculty, on their competency in working with a diverse student population. More than 7 out of 10 of California’s 2.1 million community students are not white, according to enrollment data from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

    State Center Community College District complied with these regulations with a faculty union contract approved in March 2023. The district declined through a spokesperson to comment on the case.

    The push for new diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies came out of a long-running effort to improve student outcomes in the community colleges, but it picked up steam in the wake of the George Floyd protests in 2020. 

    The original complaint described the professors as critics of anti-racism, who instead support “race-neutral policies and perspectives that treat all students equally.” The complaint stated that requiring faculty to be evaluated on their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility principles is unconstitutional and has a chilling effect on their free speech rights. The professors said they feared receiving disciplinary action or being fired under these new regulations.

    Lead plaintiff Loren Palsgaard, an English professor at Madera Community College, said in the complaint that he no longer assigned Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” because it “offer[s] perspectives that are different from the ‘anti-racism’ and ‘intersectionality’ perspective mandated by the DEIA Rules.” Reedley College chemistry professor Bill Blanken said he feared that not mentioning the races of Marie Curie or Robert Boyle means that “he will be accused of failing to adopt a ‘culturally responsive practices and a social justice lens.’”

    Judge Sherriff wrote that many of the professors’ concerns arose from documents from the Chancellor’s Office, such as guidance, recommendations, model principles and a glossary of terms. He added that none of these recommendations were formally adopted or legally binding, and that what the professors largely objected to was not in their faculty contract.

    Sherriff also noted that the Chancellor’s Office confirmed in court documents that it could not take any action against professors concerning their speech, because decisions regarding employees, such as hiring, performance evaluations and terminations, are the responsibility of the district. The Office also stated that they do not believe that the examples cited by the professors would be precluded by the diversity regulations.

    In September, Sherriff dismissed a related suit on behalf of Bakersfield College history professor Daymon Johnson. Sherriff wrote in his order that Johnson lacked standing because the Kern Community College District that employed him had not yet imposed local policies implementing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility regulations.

    In October, Johnson’s case was filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The State Center Community College professors filed an amicus brief in November in support of Johnson, urging the court to “protect academic freedom across the state by vacating the district court’s decision.”





    Source link

  • California college leaders anxious, uncertain as Trump administration orders end to diversity programs

    California college leaders anxious, uncertain as Trump administration orders end to diversity programs


    San Diego City College’s Chicano-Latina graduation ceremony in 2024 is the kind of event the Trump administration is targeting in its efforts to stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion policies on campuses.

    Credit: San Diego City College

    California college leaders are responding with a mix of uncertainty, resistance and worry over a U.S. Department of Education order to eliminate any race-based programs by the end of the month.

    The “dear colleague” letter, published Friday by the department’s Office for Civil Rights, goes far beyond telling colleges they can’t consider race as a factor in admissions. It says colleges that factor race into “admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life” are in violation of federal law. 

    The letter gives colleges until the end of the month to get rid of such programs or risk losing federal funds, though it doesn’t specify which funding would be held back. 

    Some officials at California’s colleges and universities said Tuesday that they have no plans to abolish those types of programs in dorms, graduation ceremonies, resource centers and other areas. However, others were still determining their next steps amid great uncertainty. Many are concerned about how possible funding losses might hurt campuses and how students might be harmed if there are cuts to programs.

    Greg Smith, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, said he has “no concern about our compliance in anything that we’re currently doing.” He noted that the district already complies with Proposition 209, the 1996 ballot measure that banned public universities in California from considering race in admissions and giving other race-based preferential treatment.

    He added, however, that it would be demoralizing for students if colleges were forced to get rid of programs designed to “create inclusivity and belonging based on culture and identity.”

    “I think it creates a sense of fear that the progress that’s been made in the civil rights going back to the mid-’60s is starting to be undermined,” he added. 

    The district, one of the largest in the state, is home to San Diego City, San Diego Mesa and San Diego Miramar colleges. Each year, the colleges hold a Rite of Passage Ceremony, a celebration meant to honor the achievements of Black students graduating or transferring. 

    San Diego Mesa also holds a Raza Grad Ceremony to honor Latino, Hispanic and Indigenous students, while San Diego City holds a similar event and also has a UMOJA Community offering counseling and tutoring to Black students hoping to transfer to a four-year university.

    Those programs and other cultural initiatives will continue, Smith said, though he acknowledged that he is concerned about possibly losing federal funding. 

    The college is currently planning how it would “backfill those funds” if it loses any federal dollars, such as by using reserves in the short term. “We’re really committed to ensuring those programs continue,” Smith said.

    The University of California similarly suggested in a statement that the order would not immediately impact its 10 campuses, which have a number of racially themed programs. The letter serves as “guidance on the Department’s interpretation of existing anti-discrimination laws and does not name any specific institution,” UC said in its statement. 

    “It indicates how OCR intends to enforce these legal requirements. Given the UC’s compliance with Prop. 209, we do not use race-based preferences in our practices,” UC added. 

    UC could be especially vulnerable because it receives nearly $6 billion annually in federal funds for research and other program support and at least $1.7 billion in student financial aid, including Pell grants and work study programs. That does not include federal funds for medical care across UC’s hospitals. 

    UC Riverside, which has prided itself on being one of the nation’s most diverse universities, says on its website that it was the first campus to have a professionally staffed Black student resource center and the first UC campus to have an office serving Native American students. 

    Many campuses across UC and the 23-campus California State University (CSU) also have racially themed dormitory floors, such as the African Black Diaspora Living Learning Community at UC San Diego. The mission of the community is to “establish an environment of personal and academic excellence through the affirmation and celebration of Blackness in its various expressions,” according to the campus website.

    CSU was still uncertain of potential impacts as of Tuesday. The system faces its own vulnerabilities if federal funding were to be cut: It estimates that more than $511 million in research expenditures were funded by federal agencies during the 2022-23 academic year.

    “As this type of action is unprecedented, we are consulting with the California Attorney General and higher education partners across the country to better understand the statewide impact of this letter,” said Amy Bentley-Smith, a CSU spokesperson.

    A spokesperson for the chancellor’s office overseeing California’s 116 community colleges said the office is “in conversations with state and federal partners and providing colleges as much clarity, guidance and support as we can.” Colleges are encouraged to “continue their critical work in alignment with state and federal laws,” the spokesperson added.

    Some campuses and college districts declined to comment altogether as they were still assessing the potential impacts of the order. That includes Sacramento State University, which has been a vocal leader in programming aimed at helping Black students, and the Los Angeles Community College District, the state’s largest district. 





    Source link

  • California educators nervous about federal plan to investigate schools with diversity initiatives

    California educators nervous about federal plan to investigate schools with diversity initiatives


    Flags fly outside of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington.

    Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

    The Trump administration doubled down on its plan to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the nation’s schools last week by opening an online portal where parents and other community members can report educators and schools that use the programs.

    The announcement about the EndDEI.Ed.Gov portal came on Feb. 27 — the day before a deadline for schools to end diversity and equity programs or risk losing federal funding. The DEI prohibition was issued in a Valentine’s Day missive from the U.S. Department of Education.

    The online reporting tool has teachers and other school staff nervous.

    “I can say, in general, that there’s a sense of concern (among educators),” said Steven Frazer, president of Associated Chino Teachers, Chino Valley Unified’s teachers union. “… A tool to report teachers, who could just be making sure that their classroom is a safe place for all students, who could potentially be vilified. So, it’s certainly a unique and uncertain, unfortunate climate right now for educators.”

    The San Bernardino County school district, which has a conservative school board, has little diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Frazer said. Despite that, teachers in the district feel susceptible to being reported to federal authorities.

    The district’s board has already been at odds with the teachers union and the state over a board policy that required teachers and school staff to notify parents if they believe a child is transgender.

    Frazer is concerned that the White House effort to end diversity, equity and inclusion will embolden the school district to disregard a California law requiring ethnic studies classes to be offered next school year. There is also concern for the future of clubs that support students of color and LGBTQ youth, among others, he said.

    “Things like that, outlets like that, are what make school a safe place for many students,” Frazer said. “A lot of students don’t get recognized enough at home, and so school is an outlet for them. And really, what keeps their mental state positive, what encourages them to learn and be happy and successful, is being able to meet in groups like this.”

    Definitions of DEI vary

    DEI has become a divisive issue in recent years, with the term’s definition and value dependent on a person’s political ideology. 

    “For me, it means ensuring that the marginalized are included and that equity is served, in that everyone can receive what they need to thrive, especially in a school district,” said Janice Rooths, executive director of the Center Against Racism and Trauma, which serves the state’s Inland Empire region. “And so, when you say that everyone should get what they need to thrive, it applies to every student.”

    Schools with successful DEI programs offer teachers and administrators cultural sensitivity training and ensure students understand that using negative racial epithets or other threatening words is unacceptable, Rooths said. 

    On the other side, critics of DEI see it as dividing students, or making white students feel uncomfortable or bad about themselves. They say DEI focuses on race and ethnicity over merit.

    “For years, parents have been begging schools to focus on teaching their kids practical skills like reading, writing, and math, instead of pushing critical theory, rogue sex education and divisive ideologies, but their concerns have been brushed off, mocked, or shut down entirely,” said Tiffany Justice, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, in a statement included in a U.S. Department of Education news release announcing the portal. 

    Moms for Liberty is a far-right organization that has advocated against school curricula that include LGBTQ rights and instruction on race and ethnicity.

    Portal opens just before deadline

    The End DEI portal is separate from a webpage that already collects complaints of discrimination on the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights website.

    “The U.S. Department of Education is committed to ensuring all students have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination,” according to a media release announcing the portal.

    In its Feb. 14 letter, the U.S. Department of Education letter claims that white and Asian American students have been discriminated against, and that “educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism.’ ”

    The letter states that schools must cease using race preferences in their admissions, hiring, promotion, scholarship, prizes, administrative support, sanctions, discipline and other programs and activities, including race-based graduation ceremonies and dorms.

    On Feb. 21, the California Department of Education and State Board of Education issued a joint statement to reassure state residents and school officials that federal laws regarding public education have not changed, and that executive orders from the White House and memos from the U.S. Department of Education cannot modify or override them.

    “We advise continued compliance with state and federal laws, and recommend that administrators and governing boards consult legal counsel regarding the impact of any potential federal actions,” the statement read. “If federal laws or regulations do change, we will provide guidance and take action as needed in continued support of California’s students and local educational agencies.”

    In his own letter to school district leaders, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said the California Department of Education and other state agencies will consider legal action if the federal government attempts to freeze or cut funding because districts have diversity, equity and inclusion programs in place.

    Teachers unions file lawsuits

    The U.S. Department of Education letter and its demands have already resulted in at least two lawsuits. Both include the nation’s largest teachers’ unions. The American Federation of Teachers and American Sociological Association filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education on Feb. 25, and the National Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union did the same on Wednesday. 

    The lawsuits urge the court to block the Department of Education from enforcing a directive that they say undermines civil rights, stifles free speech and dictates what educators can teach.

    “Across the country, educators do everything in their power to support every student, no matter where they live, how much their family earns, or the color of their skin — ensuring each feels safe, seen, and is prepared for the future,” said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association. 

    “Now, the Trump administration is threatening to punish students, parents and educators in public schools for doing just that: fostering inclusive classrooms where diversity is valued, history is taught honestly, and every child can grow into their full brilliance.”





    Source link

  • University of California to no longer require diversity statements in faculty hiring

    University of California to no longer require diversity statements in faculty hiring


    The campus of UCLA

    Michael Burke/EdSource

    This story was updated at 3:15 p.m. with additional reactions.

    The University of California will no longer require diversity statements for faculty applicants, university leaders announced. The change comes as the Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding from universities that have programs or initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

    Many UC academic departments and programs for years have required applicants seeking faculty positions to describe how they have or would contribute to campus diversity, such as racial diversity. But the system’s board of regents has directed UC President Michael Drake to “ensure that diversity statements are no longer required” for new applicants, Provost Katherine Newman wrote in a letter Wednesday to campus provosts.

    “The requirement to submit a diversity statement may lead applicants to focus on an aspect of their candidacy that is outside their expertise or prior experience,” Newman said. She added that UC “can continue to effectively serve communities from a variety of life experiences, backgrounds, and points of view without requiring diversity statements.”

    The letter did not explicitly mention the Trump administration. But at an emergency meeting earlier this week of the university’s systemwide Academic Council, Drake told faculty the change was being made and said UC “needed to show signs it was listening to the Trump administration,” according to Sean Malloy, an associate professor of history at UC Merced who sits on the council and was present for Drake’s presentation.

    Malloy, in an interview, called the decision cowardly and naive. “It is a catastrophic misreading of the current political dynamic,” he said. “We are dealing with people who want to punish political enemies. And the University of California is a political enemy. Offering concessions, particularly unasked-for concessions, only invites further repression.”

    Proposition 209, a 1996 ballot measure, bans California’s public colleges from giving preferential treatment based on race, sex or ethnicity, including in employment decisions. But the diversity statements, which have existed for years, were not believed to violate that law.

    The statements are typically up to two pages and allow an applicant to describe their track record of advancing various types of diversity — such as race, gender or sexual orientation — or how they expect their work would promote diversity. UC was considered a leader in the practice, with supporters saying the statements were helpful in understanding how prospective faculty would contribute to campuses and diverse student bodies.

    The use of diversity statements also faced criticism, with opponents often arguing that they served as an unfair political test of applicants. Other prominent universities, including Harvard and the University of Michigan, have also recently stopped requiring the statements.

    The Trump administration last week opened investigations into more than 50 colleges nationwide, including UC Berkeley, and accused them of running programs that discriminate against white and Asian students. Trump has separately threatened to withhold funding from Berkeley and three other UC campuses — Davis, San Diego and Santa Barbara — if his administration deems they aren’t doing enough to protect Jewish students. 

    Citing the threats of federal funding cuts, UC earlier on Wednesday announced it is implementing a hiring freeze across its campuses, hospitals and health professional schools. 

    In a separate statement Wednesday, the chair of UC’s board of regents, Janet Reilly, maintained that UC’s “values and commitment to our mission have not changed” despite no longer requiring diversity statements. She said UC would “continue to embrace and celebrate Californians from a variety of life experiences, backgrounds, and points of view.”

    Even though standalone diversity statements won’t be permitted, faculty applicants can choose to refer to accomplishments related to diversity “in other parts of an application or during interviews and discussions,” Newman said in her letter. Hiring committees can then “consider these contributions alongside the applicants’ other qualifications,” she added.

    The move to no longer require those statements “was the wrong decision at the wrong time and sends the wrong message to students and families,” said Jessie Ryan, the president of the Campaign for College Opportunity, a nonprofit organization that has advocated for more diversity among faculty and students. 

    The campaign has previously published studies highlighting the disparities in the racial demographics of students at California’s public universities compared with the racial makeup of faculty. The 2024 report found that 60% of UC’s tenure-track faculty are white, but only 19% of UC’s undergraduates are white. 

    Having a diverse faculty encourages more students to stay in school and succeed, Ryan said.

    “When you take away a statement that centers diversity and offer nothing as a replacement, it sends a message to students that we are walking away from this work,” she said.





    Source link