School district agrees to end 'affinity groups' that divided students by race

(Image courtesy of Pixabay)
(Image courtesy of Pixabay)

A team of parents working to make public schools across America better has announced that a lawsuit against a suburban Boston district that had been running “affinity groups” that divided students by race has been settled.

The result is that students no longer will be separated because of the color of their skin.

Parents Defending Education said in an announcement the case involving officials in Wellesley Public Schools was settled, although there remain a number of districts carrying out the same agenda.

The organization explained, “Wellesley Public Schools will be issuing a statement that it never should have – and never will again – suggest to parents that their children can be excluded from school-sponsored events because of their race. And if the district holds ‘affinity groups’ in the future, it must clearly and unequivocally state that such events are open to all students regardless of race.”

Its action also challenged Wellesley’s “Bias Reporting Procedure,” a practice in the district that gave officials the power to punish speech simply because someone else thought it was “offensive.” The policy was suspended by the district after the legal action was initiated and won’t be replaced, the parents group said.

“PDE’s lawsuit and the resulting settlement means Wellesley Public Schools may no longer treat students differently on the basis of race while ignoring the guaranteed protections of the Fourteenth Amendment – nor intentionally chill student speech while ignoring the guaranteed protections of the First Amendment,” the organization noted.

Nicole Neily, the president of PDA, said, “Parents Defending Education is thrilled that Wellesley Public Schools has agreed to respect both the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of its students going forward. This settlement sends a clear message that racially segregating students in public schools is wrong – and there will be consequences. We have spent decades teaching our kids that racial segregation was and will always be wrong. We will not tolerate a return to segregation in 2022.”

According to a report at Just the News, the district reportedly had established a “healing space” for “our Asian/Asian-American and Students of Color, *not* for students who identify only as White.”

The school going forward will make certain all events are “open to all students regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation.”

PDE noted it continues to work on the issue, with similar “affinity” groups already discovered at schools in Piedmont, California, Denver, Indianapolis, Milton, Massachusetts, Newton, Massachusetts, Howard County, Maryland, Farmington, Michigan, New York, Henrico County, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.

The parents group also identified several consultants that have been pushing the segregation, including the National Equity Project and Pacific Educational Group.

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