Virginia Beach board votes to keep suspension of DEI in place
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The Virginia Beach School Board voted 6-5 Tuesday to move forward with its initial vote to suspend diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
This is the third vote the board has taken on the matter.
'I want to thank the public for coming to the school board meetings repeatedly to voice your overwhelming support for our educational practices that support all students in our division,' District 5 board member Melinda Rogers said in a Facebook post on the vote. 'While the board majority voted in favor to remove needed supports, I will continue to work to support ALL staff and students, including listening to my constituents and educating myself in the policies and data that best support our community so I can make informed decisions on the dais.'
Rogers posted her statement above a worded image that states: 'Diversity is a fact. Equity is a choice. Inclusion is an action. Belonging is an outcome.'
With little notice, the board first adopted a resolution to suspend DEI initiatives in school division programs and curriculums at an April 9 meeting.
VB board adopts resolution to suspend DEI initiatives
That initial vote came after the Trump administration's Jan. 29 executive order to cut federal education funding for schools who refuse to drop diversity, equity and inclusion programs. On April 3, K-12 schools throughout the country received a notice stating they had just 10 days to certify they would comply with the executive order.
The resolution passed stated that it is 'to comply with legal obligations in exchange for receiving federal financial assistance.' Virginia Beach City Public Schools receives more than $74 million in federal funding.
At a May 6 meeting, a vote to amend the resolution resulted in a stalemate — with District 8 board member David Culpepper absent — leaving the original decision intact, but it forced a third vote on the the matter Tuesday.
After more debate, the board voted around 11:30 p.m. to keep its original decision intact, turning aside the motion to amend the resolution, with members Michael Callan, Culpepper, Carolyn Weems, Kathleen Brown, Mark Bohenstiel and Rose Dwyer voting against the motion, while Matt Cummings, Sharon Felton, Kim Melnyk, Dr. Alveta Green and Melinda Rogers voted in favor of amending the resolution.
The decision to suspend DEI initiatives in the school division has continued to divide staffers, students and parents, and has been met with backlash from many in the community who say DEI is vital to school programs and school frameworks.
Though the board voted to keep the suspension of DEI initiatives in place, school board attorney Kamala Lannetti said more information on what changes will be made to school programs and offerings will come in future meetings.
Some of those changes will come in division frameworks. For example, one of its policies, the Educational Equity policy, could be retitled to Educational Opportunity and Achievement. And words such as diversity and equity would be removed from the policy altogether.
Changes would also come to the school division's Compass to 2025 and Compass to 2030 strategic frameworks, removing words like equity and replacing the word diverse with a phrase like, 'a wide range.'
The board expects to hear more and possibly vote on policy changes at its May 27 meeting.
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