Hastings school board weighs ending district equity and diversity policy

The Hastings school board may end the district’s equity and diversity policy, a proposition dividing board members amid the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in schools.

The equity and diversity policy, also known as Policy 100, is up for routine review — the district reevaluates its roughly 140 policies on a three-year cycle. Adopted in May 2021, the three-page document outlines the district’s framework for eliminating the influence of racism and bias on student achievement and learning experiences.

Discussion on the policy’s renewal at a Feb. 26 board meeting set off a debate among the six-member board about the need for a standalone equity policy.

Board Chair Carrie Tate said the strategic plan — a guiding document for the entire district — will affirm schools’ commitment to “serving each and every student” and should supplant the equity and diversity policy.

She also noted a a Trump administration memo that gave schools two weeks to halt any practice that treats people differently because of their race and threatened to slash federal funding if they don’t.

“We can’t afford to lose millions of dollars,” she said, noting the district receives about $2.6 million in federal funding each year.

Other board members see the situation differently.

Treasurer Mark Zuzek described the fear that the Trump administration will cut off money to Hastings schools as a “red herring.” In his opinion, preserving the standalone document is essential.

“There has not been a time in recent history where the need to stand up for underrepresented groups of people is greater than it is right now,” he said.

President Donald Trump’s crackdown on DEI — and recent deep cuts to the Department of Education — has spawned anxiety at schools in Minnesota, as leaders fear losing federal money that funds special education, programs for low-income students, free school meals and more.

Minnesota receives about $1.4 billion of its school funding from the federal government. State Attorney General Keith Ellison, joining AGs in several other states, recently affirmed the legality of school DEI efforts in a fiery response to the Trump administration’s memo.

“The coordinated disinformation campaign by the Trump Administration,” Ellison wrote in a March 5 news release, “does not and cannot keep K-12 schools from complying with state anti-discrimination and human-rights laws or from creating welcoming environments where every child can succeed.”

Hastings' policy establishes steps to advance equity at the district’s public schools, including allocating resources on the basis of student need and recruiting diverse staff. A central goal: narrowing the achievement gap in Hastings, where nearly half of public high school students aren’t meeting state standards for math, recent data shows.

Greg Abbott, a spokesperson for the Minnesota School Boards Association, said the MSBA doesn’t keep tabs on various schools’ approaches to DEI. So it’s unclear if districts across Minnesota are modifying their policies amid the Trump administration’s targeting of diversity programs.

Abbott said his group is aware of two districts, including Hastings, potentially retiring their equity policies. He said he couldn’t remember the name of the second district.

“There isn’t really a push or a trend to do this that we know of,” he said in an email.

To Tate, the school board member, Hastings' standalone policy presents a few problems.

For one, it’s is more philosophical than prescriptive, she said. Also, the district didn’t borrow the policy’s language from the MSBA, she said.

That’s standard practice for many district policies, Tate added; it’s also a way for Hastings leaders to directly hear from the MSBA when laws change and policies need updating, shielding the district from potential lawsuits.

Zuzek, however, said district-specific policies don’t need to be tied to state statutes. And he pointed to the positive changes that followed Policy 100’s adoption, including altering the district’s procedures surrounding acceptance into honors programs.

Rather than submit teacher recommendations and essays to gain acceptance into advanced courses, students can now choose to join these tracks, Zuzek said — a shift that’s increased the number of students of color in these programs.

He said he doubts the strategic plan could capture the “depth and breadth” of Policy 100, which he believes is the only district policy that proactively advances equity.

“The way most policy is written is when something goes wrong, then the policy kicks in to defend the person that’s been wronged,” he said. Policy 100 “is a statement to ensure that the right … things happen for each and every student.”

Another reason Zuzek wants to maintain the policy: A flurry of families have reached out to school board members imploring them to do so — and to take a stand to support diverse students and staff, he said.

Tate said she’s frustrated that some families have jumped to the “worst possible conclusion” about why she and some of her colleagues support replacing the equity and inclusion policy with the strategic plan. The latter, she emphasized, will reiterate the district’s commitment to inclusivity. She said members hope to finalize it in the spring.

Members will make their final decision about Policy 100’s fate at a March 26 meeting.

“Our goal is to completely and totally support every student in our district,” she said. “We truly want to be a destination district for every family to feel welcome at, and to feel that we have the best education in the area to provide our students.”