The document also says that institutions that use DEI practices in violation of federal law may face lawsuits from the U.S. Department of Justice and may forfeit previous funds that were paid to them under contracts and grants.
Earlier this week, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce sent a letter to public schools in Ohio demanding they respond to the letter and ODEW by 11:59 p.m. Friday.
Dayton Public could lose roughly $50 million because of their refusal to sign, according to district officials.
David Lawrence, Dayton Public Schools superintendent, said the district has programming and support for every student, whether they are white, working class, disabled or part of the LGBT community, to use some examples.
“We didn’t want to be told where we could provide that support or if we could provide it at all,” Lawrence said. “We wanted to continue to make sure that all students were served.”
The state of Ohio, by federal law, breaks down achievement on state tests by race and gender. Schools use that data to identify gaps in learning and target interventions like tutoring or after-school programs – again, by law.
Lawrence said the board had a relatively quick discussion about what they planned to do since everyone agreed what the correct action was.
But he said the school district faces scrutiny and investigations with the lack of signature.
“So if we have students who are minority, students who are lagging behind academically in order to close that gap, we put pieces in place to help close that gap,” he said. “We will be questioned about those types of practices.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
All the board members agreed that what they were doing was the correct course of action.
“I do support this decision, and I do support it knowing that there are a lot of risks coming ahead of us,” said board president Chrisondra Goodwine.
Board member Will Smith said the board understands what their decision is.
“This isn’t us just saying we stand against something or we’re saying,” Smith said. “It’s us saying we understand what we’re up against by making the decisions that we make.”
Some entire states have pushed back against the Trump administration’s demand, arguing that good definitions of what is or isn’t a prohibited DEI program don’t exist. They have also said that they already certified that they meet the terms of Title VI via the Every Student Succeeds Act and other federal applications.
Other local school districts
So far, a handful of schools have reported submitting the signed “anti-DEI” document to the state, including Northmont, Beavercreek, Mad River, West Carrollton, Bellbrook-Sugarcreek, and Huber Heights superintendents said they do not believe their offerings will be impacted.
“There will not be an effect on students and families based on the limited information we have been provided so far from the federal government,” said Tony Thomas, Northmont superintendent.
Several other districts, including Kettering, Centerville, Tipp City and Oakwood had not yet signed the document but said officials planned to sign before the deadline.
“We will continue to meet the needs of our students and families as outlined in our strategic plan,” said Sarah Swan, spokeswoman for Centerville City Schools.
Many of the region’s schools did not reply to the Dayton Daily News’ public records request Thursday for any response they sent to the state. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Friday.