Saline Area Schools has DEI action plan that creates “trauma response team”, mechanism for anonymous reporting; mandates classes on diversity and inclusion

Parents Defending Education received a document for Saline Area Schools from concerned community members titled “3 Year Plan DEI Action Plan: Objectives and Success Indicators, Simplified.” The document explains that the district will implement policies on so-called “hate speech,” create a “trauma response team” for “hate and discrimination,” create an affinity group known as the “Black Student Union,” and mandate students to “take one class on Diversity and Inclusion, Racial Justice, Social Justice or multiculturalism and/or lessons on how to be ‘interrupters’ not bystanders and non-violent conflict resolution skills.” The following five objectives and goals are listed in the document for the district:

• Objective I: DEI Structure, Systems, Policies, and Practices: Develop a strong rationale and vision for DEI that is aligned with district goals
  • Implement strong, clear, uniform, and distinct district-wide policies on 1) nondiscrimination, 2) bullying and harassment, and 3) hate speech and hate crimes; describe definitions and distinctions between concepts, disciplinary consequences and corrective action for initial and repeat violations, guidelines for enforcement, transformative and restorative justice principles and practices, procedures, and response timeline.
  • Establish a SAS Racial Justice Task Force.
  • Create a trauma response team that is trained to support students and staff when they are harmed by hate and discrimination in the school district and/or community. This team would implement a platform to provide notification and direct assistance to parents and children impacted by actions of racism (hatred, prejudice, and exclusion).
  • Diversity Council is established with students in the high school, tasked with advancing goals in SAS DEI Action Plan.
• Objective 2: Safety, Healing, and Empowerment: Provide dedicated support to effectively implement DEI plan and structure
  • Educators proactively engage students in conversations about prejudice, discrimination, bullying, harassment and social justice in formal and informal settings.
  • A strong mechanism is in place for anonymously reporting hate speech and bullying that empowers students and staff to stand up to all hate and discrimination in any building in the district.
  • Create a Black Student Union.
  • Training for support staff/faculty (social workers, guidance counselors, and school psychologists).
• Objective 3: Recruitment, Hiring, Development, and Retention: Integrate DEI into recruitment, talent development, advancement, and retention practices and policies
  • SAS actively works to recruit, hire, and support the retention of staff from a variety of diverse and underrepresented identities and backgrounds via the development and execution of a strategy that reflects a proactive and meaningful commitment to DEI which ultimately leads to more diverse candidate pools and greater teacher and staff representation in our schools.
  • Integration of DEI Declaration in job searches that are posted publicly.
  • Hiring committee members are competent in key inclusive and equity-promoting best practices.
  • Staff include DEI performance goals in annual performance review.
  • Increase numbers of Black students through School of Choice Open Enrollment.
• Objective 4: DEI Learning, Curriculum, and Assessment: Provide meaningful opportunities for ongoing learning and high DEI competence of students, teachers, and staff
  • Hire a DEI Consultant to work with teachers (SPAR).
  • Staff continue to access Justice Leaders training through the WISD (DEIC).
  • Form Equity Teams at all buildings.
  • Concentrated staff in all SAS buildings hold deep expertise on best practices for restorative justice practices.
  • ALL high school freshmen should be mandated to take one class on Diversity and Inclusion, Racial Justice, Social Justice or multiculturalism and/or lessons on how to be “interrupters” not bystanders and non-violent conflict resolution skills.
  • Mandate and integrate culturally-responsive curriculum in all levels of schooling across all subjects.
  • All classrooms become spaces for anti-bias and anti-oppression learning to prepare students for participation in a global society.
  • Students have access to elective classes to provide in-depth exploration of lessons on racial history and historical oppression of other marginalized groups, e.g. Race and Ethnicity Course.
• Objective 5: Community Partnerships and Communication: SAS continues to engage the broader community in emphasizing the importance of DEI and lessons learned
  • Continue close work with the WISD Equity and Social Justice Department to expand training efforts, just discipline policies, and behavioral expectations.
  • Continue meeting with the Office of Civil Rights, the Mexican Consulate, the Department of Justice, and other governmental entities to expand SAS network of resources.
  • Education provided for the entire community (Ex: expand Social Justice training offerings through Saline Community Education).