Arizona superintendent puts Kyrene schools on notice over ‘DEI policies’

TEMPE, AZ (AZFamily) — Arizona state superintendent of public schools Tom Horne says he is putting the Kyrene School District “on notice” and notified them that they will lose more than $1 million for adopting a policy that Horne says “further embeds Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion language” into operations.

According to the Arizona Department of Education, Kyrene schools adopted a “staff social emotional wellness policy” that contains DEI-related language in a governing board meeting earlier this week. But the school district says it was only a proposal and still needs to be approved at their next meeting.

The state schools chief says this policy contradicts recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. Federal officials say schools promoting DEI must forfeit federal dollars. The Kyrene School District was expected to be allocated approximately $1.5 million for low-income students, teacher training and other programs, state officials said.

“The U.S. Department of Education has been abundantly clear with its most recent guidance against the use of DEI language in schools. Federal law and the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution are clear that no person shall be discriminated because of race, skin color or ethnicity, and this guidance aligns completely with my philosophy,” said Horne. “By contrast, the use of DEI programs does just the opposite and promotes racial discrimination. Schools ignore the federal guidance at their own peril. This is not an empty threat, and districts and charter schools need to treat it seriously.”

Kyrene Governing Board president Kevin Walsh said their district is all about being inclusive and making everyone feel welcome and there’s nothing in their policies or proposals that violates state or Federal laws.

“We firmly believe that our policies advance the Civil Rights Act and talk about not making any discriminatory practices based on race,” said Walsh. “That’s what entire policies and practices are about, the opposite of discriminatory language. We strive to be inclusive in every aspect.”

Walsh can’t understand why his district is being targeted.

“Every time you pull funds away from schools it hurts kids, so that if funds were pulled away in classrooms, it is something we take seriously,” Walsh said.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that as a condition for receiving federal money, the Trump administration is ordering K-12 schools to certify that they are following federal civil rights laws and ending any discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion practices. School districts have until Apr. 24 to verify that they will comply with new guidelines.

“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement. He said many schools have flouted their legal obligations, “including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another.”

The certification asks state and school leaders to sign a “reminder of legal obligations,” acknowledging their federal money is conditioned on compliance with federal civil rights laws. It also demands compliance with several pages of legal analysis written by the administration.

“The most interesting philosophical divide in our country right now is between those like me who believe in individual merit, and those who want to substitute racial entitlement. DEI is all about racial entitlement,” added Horne. “The problem with racial entitlement is that it does nothing to promote hard work, conscientiousness, or creativity. If those advocating for it succeed in having it replace individual merit, we will become a mediocre, third world country. China will become the dominant power.”

The U.S. Department of Education has the the final say on which school districts lose funding, according to Horne.

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