Patrick Tutwiler, Massachusetts Secretary of Education and Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Interim Commissioner, published a letter addressed to the United States Department of Education (USDOE) April 9.
This was in response to the USDOE’s requirement that school districts, or Local Education Agencies (LEAs), certify their compliance with anti-discrimination obligations to continue receiving federal funding – specifically regarding Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Supreme Court cases like Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.
“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” said Craig Trainor, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the USDOE. “When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal anti-discrimination requirements.
“Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these obligations, including by using DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics in clear violation of Title VI.”
In his letter, Tutwiler acknowledged that DESE does and will comply with the aforementioned anti-discrimination obligations. He added, though, that the State and LEAs have previously certified their compliance, and that “there is no legal authority permitting” the USDOE to require additional, individual certification.
He finished by writing, “as such, we submit this letter to serve as our response to this specific request,” essentially telling the USDOE that Massachusetts will not be submitting any additional certification, and therefore not complying with their request.
Marblehead School Committee Chair Jenn Schaeffner said that, since this issue is currently up in the national and state levels, not the local level, until “it gets down to a specific directive… that we need to take specific action on something, then we would, but at this point, our state regulators have not indicated as such.”
John Robidoux, Marblehead’s superintendent, said, “As the educational leader of the district, it is my responsibility to ensure that we continue to operate in such a way that all students, staff and community partners have a sense of belonging, are treated equitably, have the opportunity to share their voices and be included as members within our learning environments where differences are recognized, celebrated and accepted.”
He added, “Unless the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and/or the Massachusetts Department of Secondary and Elementary Education indicates differently, we will continue to operate as we are currently and will provide the most appropriate education for our students.”
Saugus’s superintendent Michael Hasham did not respond to requests for comment, but School Committee chair Vincent Serino said this issue hasn’t been on their radar yet since “we can’t predict the future.”
“It’s not like we have policies in place to implement (DEI) or we have policies in place to eliminate (DEI). We don’t. It’s not really heavily involved in our curriculum, in what we’re doing as a committee and as a school,” he said. “Honestly, it really doesn’t affect us one way or another. As of now, it hasn’t affected us.”
Lynn Public Schools (LPS) Superintendent Dr. Evonne Alvarez addressed this conversation between the federal and state government in a letter to LPS staff.
“My reason for sharing this information with you at this time is to make you aware that should there be any meaningful decrease in federal education funding coming into our district, it would have a significantly negative effect on our programs and staffing and inevitably lead to cuts in those areas,” she wrote. “We sincerely hope that does not materialize, but we are keenly aware of the whirlwind of activity in this area being generated in Washington and felt (it was) important to provide this update.”
Lynn School Committee Chair and Mayor Jared Nicholson added that the State’s approach aligns with LPS’s values.
“We appreciate the leadership of Secretary Tutwiler and the Healey-Driscoll Administration in their response to this request, asserting our full compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws and defending our commitment to diversity, which is very much consistent with the approach of the Lynn Public Schools and our values as a community,” Nicholson said.
Superintendent Dr. Josh Vadala of Peabody did not respond to requests for comment, but Beverley Ann Griffin Dunne, Peabody School Committee member, also addressed the potential loss in federal funding.
“It’s sad that states aren’t being allowed to work this through these edicts from Washington, and the extortion being committed by our government is frustrating,” she said. “Funding is always used to drive policy, and I understand that, and I appreciate it, but I also feel that the way it’s being handled is wrong.”
Nahant’s superintendent Rob Liebow emphasized the importance of DEI.
“We’re going to continue to treat any kid that comes to our school as a rightful, deserving human being (with) the best opportunities,” he said. “Diversity, equity and inclusion? Well, yeah, I hope people have equity. I hope they have inclusion, and our populations and schools are diverse, so if you look at what it’s saying, ‘diversity, equity and inclusion,’ nobody should be excluded. Everybody should be treated equally. And our world is diverse. That’s just the way it is.”
In Swampscott, Superintendent Pamela Angelakis did not respond to requests for comment, but School Committee chair Glenn Paster said he believes “that what is going on at the federal level is abhorrent.”
“These are children we’re talking about. Whether the child is a 3-year-old in integrated preschool or an 18-year-old in high school, our job is to teach them what they need to move on in life,” he said. “Our job is not to… ask questions that are none of our damn business.
“I am confident that the Commonwealth and the school district will do everything in its power to continue the hard work that we’re already doing with DEI and everything else, and I wish the federal government (would) just do something different (and) not worry about us.”
Thomas Geary, Lynnfield’s superintendent, did not respond to requests for comment, and neither did School Committee chair Kristen Elworthy.
