The Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) district has adopted a swath of racial equity policies and paid over $1.3 million to a racial equity consultant over a 10-year span to host staff workshops.
A board policy passed by the district in 2020 states that “color-blindness” — the idea that people should not be viewed through a racial lens — is a “present day racial ideology” used as a means of “justifying oppression,” according to documents obtained by Parents Defending Education (PDE) first shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. The board also adopted a Black Lives Matter resolution and hosts annual racial equity training.
The policy defines “racial equity” as the “condition that would be achieved if one’s racial identity, in a statistical sense, did not determine how one fares” and says it “is also a commitment that resources are distributed based on need, recognizing that ‘equal’ treatment, opportunities, and resources are not enough within the context of historical and structural racism and discrimination that continue to manifest in our society,” according to PDE. Achieving “racial equity” also involves “the elimination of policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural messages that reinforce differential outcomes or fail to eliminate them.”
The documents contain definitions of several different forms of racism, such as “structural racism” and “institutional racism,” as well as mentions of “white supremacy” and “privilege,” PDE found.
The district’s “racial equity goals” also imply an effort to make hiring decisions based on race.
“This is another disturbing example of the rot in K-12 schools which highlights how far-left actors have been making big money pushing race-based equity programming that has not improved the learning outcomes of the students the funding was intended to help,” Rhyen Staley, researcher at PDE, told the DCNF.
The district first contracted with the Racial Equity Institute in 2014 to host “Dismantling Racism Workshops” and has since contracted with the organization every year 2016 to 2024, barring 2020, according to the contracts obtained by PDE.
The contracts have cost IPS between $33,000 and $243,000 every year, with much of those funds stemming from Title I grants.
Title I funds are meant to go towards low-income students and underperforming schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
“Racism is a fierce, ever-present, challenging force, one which has structured the thinking, behavior, and actions of individuals and institutions since the beginning of U.S. history,” the organization’s website reads. “To understand racism and effectively begin dismantling it requires an equally fierce, consistent, and committed effort.”
The contracts state the institute is “committed to bringing awareness and analysis to the root causes of disparities and disproportionality in order to create racially equitable organizations and systems” and the program will help to create “in-school structures for racial equity,” according to PDE.
“There is something uniquely egregious about spending Title 1 funds on an equity consultant who did nothing to help the low-income students who are supposed to benefit from those dollars,” Erika Sanzi, director of outreach for PDE, told the DCNF. “The whole mindset behind this misuse of money is a problem that should be eradicated at its root.”
A 2020 IPS presentation obtained by PDE boasts to have sent over 3,000 people through the REI trainings with a majority being IPS staff. It also states “29 equity schools/programs” were created in 2015 alone.
That same year, IPS adopted a Black Lives Matter resolution which states that the district will reduce the “number of [IPS police] officers in schools,” establish “School Equity Teams,” prioritize “the recruitment and retention of Black teachers and school leaders through deliberate policies & programs,” and require a “Racial Equity Mindset” throughout the district, according to PDE.
“Understanding the ugly truth of our past is necessary to building a beautiful vision of our future,” the document reads. “We can’t value Black lives without teaching Black history, recognizing the contributions of Black leaders to our city, state, and country, and celebrating the sacrifices and achievements that were necessary for moving us closer to the fulfillment of America’s promises.”
The Department of Education in February released a memo threatening to revoke federal funding from schools that do not halt all racially discriminatory practices and programs, a directive that has since been challenged by several schools and education groups. The department has also been temporarily blocked from cutting $600 million in grants that used taxpayer funds on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) teacher training programs.
In January, Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed an executive order banning the use of state and federal funds from going towards DEI practices in schools and state agencies.
Indianapolis Public Schools and the Racial Equity Institute did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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