Indianapolis Public Schools promotes racially segregated groups

One of IPS's groups is 'for White people' and is called 'Confronting White Privilege'

The Indianapolis Public School District is set to launch a program that will separate staff members by race, sexual orientation, religion and gender groups.

"We are so excited to be able to offer this opportunity this school year and hope that you’ll consider joining an affinity group," IPS’s office of racial equity said in an email to district staffers of the program, according to the grassroots organization, Parents Defending Education.

Registration information sent to IPS staffers shows 12 "affinity groups" that are broken down into categories such as, "LGBTQIA+," "Ability Diverse," "Black/African American," "LatinX," "Jewish," "Muslim," as well as other categories.

The group for White people is called "Confronting White Privilege."

Affinity groups are sponsored by the district’s office of racial equity, a position created by Dr. Aleesia Johnson, an African-American hired as superintendent in 2019.

"It is hard to imagine how deliberately separating colleagues based on their immutable traits can possibly lead anywhere good," Erika Sanzi, Parents Defending Education’s director of outreach, said in a statement. "The fixation of IPS on group identities is not only misguided but dangerous because of how quickly it can lead to the dehumanization of others."

The program will officially launch on Sept. 23, according to the documents, when this year’s group leaders will be announced and the school employees will discuss "goal setting."

The report comes after other schools have faced scrutiny for implementing similar segregated groups, including in Massachusetts earlier this year when Parents Defending Education filed a federal civil rights complaint over a district excluding White students from an event designated for other racial groups.

"Note: This is a safe space for our Asian/Asian-American and Students of Color, *not for students who identify only as White," a March 2021 email from the district read.

Then earlier this month, a Black Atlanta mother filed a federal discrimination complaint against an elementary school, alleging students were segregated based on race.

"I was appalled that we are talking about Black classes and segregation," Kila Posey told a news reporter.

Posey said that the principal at Mary Lin Elementary School, where her daughter attends, implemented a plan that put Black students in two classes with two different teachers, while White students were put in six classes with six different teachers.

"We've lost sleep like trying to figure out why would a person do this," Posey said. "First, it was just disbelief that I was having this conversation in 2020 with a person that looks just like me — a Black woman. It's segregating classrooms. You cannot segregate classrooms. You can't do it."

"My community, had they known about this, would probably be extremely upset. Not just the Black parents but also White parents," Posey added.

Submitted September 01, 2021 at 09:23PM by DffrntDrmmr https://ift.tt/3zDgkwp