Fort Worth Independent School District ‘equity’ committee member accused of doxxing parents as school district infuses ‘equity’ work with divisive teachings of critical race theory and ‘Courageous Conversations’

  • Fort Worth Independent School District - Texas

Incidents

Issues

In October 2015, Kent Scribner started as superintendent of Fort Worth Independent School District. In 2021, he was chair of the Texas Urban Council of Superintendents when it signed a letter opposing HB 3979, which bans critical race theory in Texas. 

In November 2021, a local parent, Kerri Rehmeyer, said that Norma Garcia-Lopez, co-chair of the Racial Equity Committee at Fort Worth Independent School District, published online the addresses and phone numbers of parents she opposed,

Actions

Actions that school district trustees have taken include:

  • February 2016 — Within a few months after starting as superintendent, Scribner increasingly focused on equity and inclusion and created a Racial Equity Committee in February 2016.
  • June 9, 2020 — School district trustees passed a “racial equity” policy, stating: “As members of the Racial Equity Committee we will speak out against the perpetual White supremacy, systemic racism, and the anti-Blackness we observe and experience. The need for action to accompany our words is imperative. We will support our school district in conducting a full Racial Equity Audit at every school and district wide. This tool will be used by the Racial Equity Committee and FWISD Leadership to identify and eliminate systems, policies and practices which perpetuate racism in our schools and community.”
  • April 15, 2021 — School district trustees passed a policy to eliminate “institutional racism.” The website states: “The Racial and Ethnic Equity policy is meant to ensure that minority students get the same chances of academic success as white students. The policy calls for providing ‘high quality, culturally and personally relevant instruction, curricula and support.’ It also calls for the elimination of losing instructional time due to disciplinary referrals.” Meanwhile, the policy noted that only about one of three third graders in the school district were at grade-level math and reading.
  • June 3, 2021 — According to its minutes, the district Racial Equity Committee met and discussed $261.56 million the school district was receiving in so-called ESSER funds, as part of COVID relief money. Committee members discussed spending funds on creating “calming centers” at schools to “reduce suspensions.”
  • Nov. 9, 2021 — A father supporting critical race theory said at a board meeting that he had a “thousand soldiers” ready to fight opponents of critical race theory.
  • Nov. 19, 2021 — A parent, Kerri Rehmeyer, told Fox News that Norma Garcia-Lopez, co-chair of the Racial Equity Committee at Fort Worth Independent School District, of publishing their addresses and phone numbers online, an act known as “doxxing.” Rehmeyer, a Fort Worth mother, sued the school district to block a mask mandate. 

Professional Development

The school district offers professional development that includes:

  • “E&E: Foundations for Racial Equity in Education (F.R.E.E.)” — Two days of in-person training. Training description reads: “Participants will be introduced to the Courageous Conversations about Race Protocol as taught by Glenn Singleton. The course begins with an overview of racial equity work in Fort Worth ISD. Next, participants will learn about the Four Agreements, the Compass, and two of the Six Conditions. Throughout the course there will be opportunities to engage independently and collaboratively with other participants. As a culminating activity, participants will develop their own racial autobiography to move more deeply into critical self-reflection.”
  • January 2021 — Scott Blanco-Davis, a teacher at the district’s World Languages Institute, took “Beyond Diversity” training and was trained in the Courageous Conversations program, sold by Glenn Singleton, cofounder of the controversial Pacific Educational Group. The teacher filed a complaint about its prejudice against white participants.

Committee Members

According to the school district’s website, the 2021-2022 Fort Worth Independent School District Racial Equity Committee members include:

NAMEROLEINFORMATION
Anderson, SueCommunity Member
Benavidez, DoreneDistrict Staff
Breed, SherryEquity & Excellence Staff
Chavez, AracelyDistrict Staff
Clark, RickieCommunity Member
Cortez, DawnDistrict Staff
Covington, SamanthaEquity & Excellence Staff
Cytron-Walker, AdenaCommunity Member
Darr, AnneBoard Trustee
Flores, RudiCommunity Member
Garcia, SandraCommunity Member
Garcia-Lopez, NormaCommunity MemberCo-Chair
Grover, BarbaraEquity & Excellence Staff
Hall, MiaEquity & Excellence Staff
Herrera, AlfonsoCommunity Member
Hodges, CharlesEquity & Excellence Staff
Jones, EbonyCommunity Member
Jones, TrevonCommunity Member
Krochmal, MaxCommunity Member
Luebanos, AnaelBoard Trustee
Martinez, RoxanneBoard Trustee
Masterson, TwylaCommunity Member
Mattingly, CissyDistrict Staff
McKinney, WandaCommunity Member
Moss, ChristeneCommunity Member
Nickerson, PorsheEquity & Excellence Staff
Okweni, JohanahDistrict Staff
Phillips, QuintonBoard TrusteeCo-Chair
Pinon, LizdeliaCommunity Member
Poullard, EricDistrict Staff
Poullard, PreciousDistrict Staff
Sorensen, MarceyDistrict Staff
Varnado, KristaCommunity Member
Walker, CarlosEquity & Excellence Staff
West, BillCommunity Member
Williams, JaredCommunity Member