(Corine Gatti, Headline USA) A California school district urged its staff during a workshop last September to send misbehaving students to diversity training rather than suspend them, according to a new report from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Based on the Anti-Defamation League’s education program, last September’s workshop presentation reportedly included a chart displaying the percentage of employees who are “comfortable” discussing problems of “Anti-Blackness,” “Anti-Hispanic/Latinx” and “Anti-LGBTQ+.”
A worksheet titled “that’s so gay” was also presented to teachers, purporting to offer ways a student could be an “ally to the LGBTQ community” and how they could use their “privilege” to speak up and educate others, the Daily Caller reported.
Additionally, the staff was given notes that the “restorative response team” was looking for more bias hunters, who were sensitive to identity and race to implement the program.
And because the training was based on ADL’s program, the organization’s No Place For Hate coordinator handbook and resource guide was promoted during the training sessions. That’s the same guide that said microaggressions, bullying or slurs can ultimately lead to genocide, the Daily Caller noted.
Further, the presentation introduced alternative forms to suspension and transferring students to different schools as a form of punishment. These forms offer options such as attending a Caring Connections Session or assisting a custodian for several days, taking a course on the impact of hate behavior instead of transferring to a different school.
However, the presentation stated that students who pose a physical threat to others, commit serious crimes, or engage in substance abuse should be suspended. Students who engage in less severe misconduct, such as bullying or theft, should attend restorative justice programs.
The school district said it was updating its policies to address hate language and behavior through the implementation of restorative justice practices, according to their website, Under the “Discipline & Restorative Justice Practices” tab.
Parents Defending Education President Nicole Neily reportedly criticized the school’s new program as “heavy-handed programming.”
“Although well-intentioned, heavy-handed programming like Poway’s is often counterproductive because it demonizes and shames participants (leading to a backlash) while failing to actually change individuals’ underlying opinions in their hearts—alienating employees who now understand that to their district, they are the ‘enemy’ because of their wrongthink,” she told the Daily Caller.
