Parents Group Demands Illinois School District Be Investigated Over ‘Race-Based Hiring’

A parental rights group is demanding that federal officials investigate an Illinois school district over hiring policies that it says may be discriminating based on race.

Parents Defending Education Vice President Caroline Moore sent a letter earlier this month asking the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to open up an inquiry into Community Unit School District 300 in Algonquin, Illinois, over its hiring policies. The demand for an investigation comes after the parental rights group obtained a number of diversity, equity, and inclusion documents from the district through a public records request.

“Community Unit School District 300 has adopted a strategic plan to hire, retain, and establish a diverse staff, which establishes certain hiring practices for teachers of color in the District. This policy promotes race-based hiring and educator retention in the District,” Moore wrote to the EEOC. “Community Unit School District 300 cannot discriminate based on race or sex in employment decisions.”

For example, a sample application for the district included an equal opportunity statement that said that the district had “a policy of active recruitment of qualified minority teachers and non-certified employees.”

The district did not respond to requests for comment about whether that policy was still in place and how it defined who counted as a minority.

A 2022 equity audit commissioned by the school showed that many staff at the school were upset that the majority of the teachers at the school were white.

Testimony in the audit quoting from one staff member said that it was “hard for students to think they can talk to a person because understand [sic] where they come from. The district relies on staff of color to be go-to for SOC to relate a bit better when [they] see themselves. School district needs to be more intentional than putting application online, but actually recruit POC.”

“Over the last four years, the collective staff of color has been 9% to 10% which is in stark contrast to White educators and administrators, which make up 90%-91%,” the audit noted.

According to a draft strategic plan from the school, 28% of new hires as of October 2023 were defined as “diverse staff,” up from the 25% goal.

Community Unity School District 300

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This coincided with one of the recommended goals of the equity audit to hire “a more diverse workforce” and work on “attracting African American teachers.”

The same audit recommended that teachers were supposed to be asked a series of questions steeped in gender and racial ideology for the purpose of “culturally relevant teachers,” Moore pointed out.

These questions included: “When was the last time you shared your pronouns? Why do you think it is essential to share your pronouns?” and “Please speak directly about how you would support your transgender students.”

Teachers were also asked about how they would react if white students were outperforming black students in their classrooms. Moore said that these kinds of questions pitted students against each other and made them focus on their race rather than on academic achievement.

The district has a timeline posted on its website that tracks its ongoing DEI efforts across multiple levels.

“Parents should be aware of what’s going on in their districts and what the policies are that are actually written down,” Moore concluded, referring to strategic plans that don’t get talked about. “This is just one more reminder that parents need to be vigilant and understand what the teachers are actually teaching in the lesson plans in the class.”