Scarsdale School Superintendent Responds to US Dept of Education Directive on D.E.I.

In one of many directives sent out by the Federal Government in recent weeks, Craig Trainor, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the US Department of Education, sent a letter to all school districts threatening the loss of federal funding for any districts who include diversity, equity and inclusion practices into everyday “training, programming and discipline.” You can see the letter here:

Specifically it says, “Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon “systemic and structural racism” and advanced discriminatory policies and practices. Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them—particularly during the last four years—under the banner of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (“DEI”), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.”

“….All educational institutions are advised to: (1) ensure that their policies and actions comply with existing civil rights law; (2) cease all efforts to circumvent prohibitions on the use of race by relying on proxies or other indirect means to accomplish such ends; and (3) cease all reliance on third-party contractors, clearinghouses, or aggregators that are being used by institutions in an effort to circumvent prohibited uses of race.”

“…Institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding.”

We wondered what the impact of this directive might be on the Scarsdale Schools so we reached out to Scarsdale School Superintendent Andrew Patrick and received the following response:

"Yes, we received the so-called "Dear Colleague" letter. These letters are a common practice of the Department when they want to provide guidance on how the Department will interpret law or enforce law or regulation. As stated on the Department's website (and referenced in the letter), "Guidance documents represent the Department of Education’s (ED) current thinking on a topic. They do not create or confer any rights for or on any person and do not impose any requirements beyond those required under applicable law and regulations."

In my view, this particular one makes a wild and unsubstantiated claim that, "Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon “systemic and structural racism” and advanced discriminatory policies and practices." They use this claim as a pretext for labeling any program or practice connected to DEI as illegal. Regardless of what I think, the letter makes three recommendations to schools:

(1) ensure that their policies and actions comply with existing civil rights law;
(2) cease all efforts to circumvent prohibitions on the use of race by relying on proxies or other indirect means to accomplish such ends; and
(3) cease all reliance on third-party contractors, clearinghouses, or aggregators that are being used by institutions in an effort to circumvent prohibited uses of race.

The Scarsdale Public Schools are indeed in compliance with all existing Federal statutes, including TItle VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which is the only statue explicitly referenced in the letter). The other two recommendations are squarely aimed at higher education institutions. Thus, there is no response needed on our part.”

Presentation to the Scarsdale Forum

In other school news, Superintendent Patrick gave a presentation about the Scarsdale Schools to the Scarsdale Forum on February 12, 2025. The presentation defines the districts mission and vision for the future. It also features some programs that are underway to support the district’s strategic plan.

Patrick explained, “The plan builds on our long-standing mission statement, to sponsor each student’s full development, enabling our youth to be effective and independent contributors in a democratic society and an interdependent world. “

He defined their vision as follows: "We envision a resilient and adaptable learning community that fosters the potential of student and adults alike to live well-balanced lives full of meaning, purpose, impact ad joy."

The presentation and Dr. Patrick’s notes provide insight into district initiatives and the financial challenges that now challenge their ability to carry out their long term plans.

Take a look at the presentation here: