The conservative group Defenders of Education (DE) is calling on the Florida Legislature to review its education laws and policies.
Their letter asks leaders to repeal or amend the following provisions:
• Allow race- or gender-based preferences in hiring, admissions, or programming.
• Violating Title VI, VII, or IX of the Civil Rights Act or the Equal Protection Clause and compromising the safety of students through inadequate screening of abusive employees between schools.
DE says its goal is to ensure that each state’s education system complies with federal civil rights and constitutional protections before violations endanger students and further undermine the trust of parents.
In a letter to Florida officials, Defending Education listed a number of questions it would like answered.
1. Are public schools permitted or directed under state law to use race in admissions, programs, scholarships, and benefits?
2. Are public schools permitted or directed to provide preferential hiring or promotion based on race, sex, color, national origin, or religion?
3. Do schools prioritize candidates from “underrepresented groups” in hiring?
Facilitate promotions and bypass qualified candidates who don’t belong to those groups?
6. May schools use mandatory minimums in their candidate pools to ensure that they include a certain number of applicants from a particular race?
7. Can schools condition contracts based on characteristics such as gender or race?
8. Must schools implement DEI training programs for staff, including but not limited to those that exclude or disadvantage through content or implementation?
Attack individuals or create a hostile environment based on protected characteristics.
9. Public schools provide all educational facilities, private spaces, lodging facilities, lodging facilities, sports teams,
Scholarships and other benefits to individuals based on their gender identity, regardless of the student’s underlying biological sex or privacy and safety.
Are you worried about your classmates?
10. May public schools treat the “misgendering” of students or staff as a form of sexual harassment under state anti-discrimination laws? In this context, could schools require all attendees to use required pronouns and chosen names, even if they are biologically incorrect?
11. Are schools required to use E-Verify to verify the identity and legal status of people applying for jobs at the school or district?
12. Must a school conduct periodic reviews of hired employees before implementing E-Verify? After an initial vetting, must a school conduct background checks on employees throughout their tenure?
13. How does the Board of Education verify the educational background of prospective employees or current employees on their resumes?
15. Are schools required to include information regarding sexual assault or sexual harassment accusations, investigations, or convictions brought against school employees in that individual’s employment file? Are schools required to report sexual assault or sexual harassment allegations to appropriate criminal and civil authorities (e.g., Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, local police)?
