Southlake schools can protect students without going woke. It’s about time they do | Opinion

It’s time for school district leaders in Southlake to step up and stand against discrimination and harassment.

They can do so without embracing what they see as the evils of equity initiatives. They can protect students without violating the community’s wishes for a politically conservative district. And they can do it without caving to the Biden administration, if that’s the concern.

What they cannot do is stick their heads in the sand about complaints that led to a U.S. Department of Education investigation. They must answer for the Carroll Independent School District’s failure, whatever it was, to protect vulnerable students and provide a path to do better.

The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights has reportedly found violations that could bring sanction against the district. School trustees, not unreasonably, want to know more about the specific findings before they negotiate a response in hopes of avoiding a long legal battle that could cost the district federal dollars.

The findings are the culmination of years of turmoil in the district. After students were seen in a 2018 viral video rejoicing in a racial slur, district officials created an “action plan” for diversity education. That brought a backlash, timed coincidentally but perfectly with the nation’s roiling over race after the murder of George Floyd. Conservative candidates swept school board elections, the action plan was dumped, and the board pushed in the other direction.

Trustees say all students are protected from discrimination and harassment for any reason. But enough families say the district has dragged its feet as complaints surfaced that a more robust response is needed.

The board’s actions included, notably, removing protections for gender identity and sexual orientation from the district’s anti-discrimination policy. Carroll ISD also announced recently it would sue the Biden administration over expanding Title IX protections to include gender identity and sexual orientation. So, it’s understandable if parents of such students hear a clear message that the district isn’t on their side, even if they’re targeted by other children.

The feds would probably love to make an example out of Carroll. If the evidence amounts to a handful of incidents over a couple of years, that’s hardly a case for raging discrimination that deserves a severe sanction.

But if district leadership knew of persistent problems and didn’t address them, there must be a remedy. It would be best for the district to cooperate with the inquiry and outline identifiable steps. Those must include clearly outlined consequences for harassment and bullying, along with clear ways for families to lodge complaints — without fear of retribution and with assurance that investigations will be serious.

It’s difficult to judge whether either side of the equation is responding reasonably because neither will talk specifics of findings or proposed fixes. But families of students who experienced harassment have asked for reasonable changes, such as training for staff to respond to discrimination and recruiting a more diverse faculty.

There is a vast middle ground between protecting vulnerable students and embracing all the finer points of the diversity, equity and inclusion agenda. Businesses and universities are starting to see that some of the finer points of a well-intentioned movement, such as required diversity statements, have gone too far.

But Carroll has pledged — and the law requires — protections for minorities and appropriate attention to preventing discrimination. The best way to achieve that would be to cooperate with the federal inquiry, take its findings seriously and follow through on meaningful change.

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