This Friday, May 9, Manual’s Black Student Union (BSU) hosted their weekly meeting. BSU, while open to all students, is a club centered around promoting inclusivity of black students and addressing racial injustice issues. At this meeting, they held a forum in which Kentucky’s Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman answered students’ questions regarding the future of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. After Coleman spoke, JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio also took questions.
In February, The U.S. Department of Education (DoE) ordered all schools to end the use of racial preferences in decision making such as hiring and scholarships. Then, on March 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the DoE and ban DEI programs in schools that receive federal funding. The future of DEI related programs remains uncertain in Kentucky. So, Coleman met with BSU members and other students to answer their questions about these developments and what they could mean for the youth of Kentucky.
Coleman, a former teacher, emphasized the importance of student voices in the state government’s decision making.
“Students and student voices have always been critically important to me. I don’t like that, as adults, we tend to make decisions about you without you. I think that is probably what leads a lot of the challenges to compound rather than solve themselves, so I just want to open the floor up,” Coleman said.
Ava Wiseman (11, HSU) asked about the government’s plan to address the DEI bans. Coleman explained that the state has joined several lawsuits raised by other states that are fighting against anti-DEI policies.
“Every chance we get, we join a fight to be able to fend off those anti-diversity, equity and inclusion policies so that we can continue doing what we’re doing,” Coleman said.
At this point, Pollio spoke briefly to clarify how the federal government is planning to end DEI initiatives, which he said would be through funding cuts.
“I believe [that] within the next six months, JCPS will be getting a letter from the federal government saying [that] all or portions of your federal dollars will be withheld unless you get rid of anything that says ‘diversity, equity or inclusion’ in your entire district,” Pollio said.
Coleman returned to the mic after Pollio spoke about the funding cut threats. James Neto-Daniels (11, J&C) then asked about how the state government officials speak about the DEI cuts and issues within meetings and discussions.
“The first thing the governor [Andy Beshear] and I say when we’re asked about it is, ‘Diversity is an asset.’ We talk about the programs that we have and the good that they do. We talk about the value in that. We talk about the misconceptions in diversity, equity and inclusion. It is intended to create as much opportunity as possible for people who have typically been shut out of these systems. Educating people on what it means and who it serves and making sure to dispel the misstatement of what it does is always important, too,” Coleman said.
Neto-Daniels also asked what the next 5-10 years could look like for Kentucky schools if DEI were to be banned completely. Coleman responded that her and Governor Beshear intend to fight for DEI policies and initiatives.
“I think that we still have a fight to fight, and there are different ways that you can tackle it. You can either comply and decide you’re just going to give in and move on. You can tell people what they want to hear and then do what you want to do. Or you can just stand up and say ‘We’re not going to take it and we’re going to fight this until the very end’,” Coleman said.
This was the last question that Coleman answered. However, Pollio remained at the meeting to continue answering questions regarding the JCPS-specific perspective on anti-DEI initiatives.
Pollio spoke about the protection of DEI programs within JCPS. He spoke on the federal government’s interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race in federally funded programs. He explained that according to the letter sent out by the DoE in February, DEI initiatives violate this title by giving privileges to minority students. A similar letter was sent several weeks later that asked all district superintendents to sign and certify that they had no DEI policies in place.
“Every district in Kentucky signed that letter except for Jefferson County and Fayette County. I can’t sign it because we have diversity and equity initiatives in our district and we’re proud of that,” Pollio said.
He continued to explain that JCPS disagrees with the DoE’s interpretation of Title VI, and the district now faces the threat of losing federal funding by not signing the document. According to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, Kentucky receives upwards of $1 billion in federal grants every year. This money is allocated to low-income students and students with disabilities. It is also used for school meals and educator training. Cuts in this funding could result in a decrease in support for low-income and disabled students, a decrease in the amount of teachers in Kentucky and increased school food prices.
“There was a court order that halted that for now, but we’re going to keep fighting it. I believe it’s going to end up in court […] in the end, the Supreme Court is going to be making the decision on this,” Pollio said.
At the end of the meeting, Pollio encouraged students to come together, both at Manual, and with other JCPS schools, to make their voices heard.
“If federal funding is slashed, you all will feel that. I would encourage you first to think about those things. Second of all, come together […] When you really make a plan to say, ‘We’re not just going away here. We are going to have our voices heard,’ in a really appropriate way, they’re going to listen to you,” Pollio said.
