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Weekly Full Policy Report - 9/27

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Continued Demolition of the Department of Education


This administration is turning a national nightmare into policy. The U.S. Department of Education has proposed rules that would dismantle and bar race-conscious considerations from being enforced, stripping the Office for Civil Rights of key tools to challenge systemic discrimination. By narrowing the lens through which discrimination is recognized and enforced, these proposals would make it far harder to address policies and practices that perpetuate unequal outcomes.


At the same time, the administration quietly moved to end discretionary grant funding for multiple Minority-Serving Institutions, falsely claiming such support violates the law because it benefits institutions that serve large numbers of students of color. Cutting these resources will have immediate and long-term consequences for students, regional economies, and the civic health of entire communities.


Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s assertion that “discrimination based upon race or ethnicity has no place in the United States” ignores the reality of structural inequity and weaponizes that rhetoric to gut protections and resources that address historic and ongoing harm. Claiming colorblindness in the face of entrenched generational disparities is not neutrality. It is erasure. It refuses to acknowledge how segregation, underfunding, biased assessments, and unequal K-12 preparation and funding have shaped who gets to succeed in education and who does not.


Beyond the immediate educational harms, this policy shift signals a broader retreat from the federal government’s responsibility to advance equity. It aligns with an alarming pattern of attempts to hollow out federal agencies and weaken public programs designed to protect the health, safety, and rights of vulnerable communities. If left unchecked, these rule changes will deepen racial and economic disparities at a moment when our nation can least afford them.


We must call this what it is: an attack on civil rights and on the mission of federal agencies to protect vulnerable communities. Now is the time for sustained, organized resistance. Educators, students, community organizations, decision makers and elected leaders must demand transparency and press decision makers at institutions and Congress to defend Minority-Serving Institutions.


SCHOOL BOARD ACTION

The Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) Governing Board recently put forth a policy (title) change at their September 11 meeting “against ‘grooming’” whilst not defining ‘grooming’ or substantially changing the underlying student/staff boundary policy.

Fast forward to the September 25 PUSD agenda with a modified policy that outlines student/staff boundaries, defines grooming, and puts forth training for mandated reporters to better identify abuse.


This shows a clear effort to strengthen student and staff understanding of boundaries and prioritize student safety while balancing reasonable staff responsibilities and expectations. 

Thank you to the board members and community members who engaged thoughtfully in the process. Your voices made the policy more responsive and centered on student safety.

For those who are attending Thursday's (9/25) PUSD Board Meeting, we hope your comments will be gracious to these updates that center student safety, not politics. You can also Contact Peoria Board members with a similar message.


Take meaningful action in your school community to monitor Arizona’s school boards by applying to be a Hall Monitor! We’re currently taking applications for Hall Monitors to help monitor local public school governing boards. We can train you or your organization on how meaningful this work is to stemming the attacks on some of our most vulnerable youth: trans and nonbinary students. 


CIVIC ENGAGEMENT - Local Elections

There’s an election coming up in Maricopa County. Ballots for the all-mail election go out on Oct. 8, and should be mailed back by Oct. 28.


This election deals with bonds to fund local hospitals, schools, etc. Government bonds are loans paid back with tax money. Investors lend the money up front, and taxpayers pay them back over time, with interest. The idea is that taxpayers get some public benefit in return, like a hospital, school or road.


If you’re a Maricopa County voter, look out for your ballot on or after Oct. 8 and return it by Oct. 28. Vote from your couch or kitchen table. Your vote matters!


CIVIC LITERACY - DISCRIMINATION & HARASSMENT COMPLAINT FORM

Humanity doesn’t always send our best. We know that queer students experience discriminatory comments, harassing behavior and a spectrum of slurs at school from their peers, faculty, and administrators. Discrimination and harassing behavior are not part of growing up and have no place in our classrooms or on our playing fields.


By documenting your ongoing lived experience, government officials can no longer claim their ignorance of the problem. Bullying, harassment, and discrimination disrupt a student’s education and threaten their academic attainment and physical and mental health. Don’t be silent.


If you have been discriminated against or have experienced harassment at school, consider filing a complaint with the Civil Rights division with the Arizona Attorney General here: (https://www.azag.gov/complaints/civil-rights) 


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