Parents Prevail Over K-12 ‘Bias Incidents’ Wellesley Public Schools amends woke policies after families sue.
Score one more victory for the parental revolt against woke K-12 education. As part of a legal settlement on Monday, Wellesley Public Schools in Massachusetts agreed to amend practices that parents said excluded some students from events because of their race.
Last year the nonprofit Parents Defending Education sued in federal court on behalf of three Massachusetts families over Wellesley policies and practices that they said violated the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment and civil-rights law. The settlement looks like a solid win for the parents.
Wellesley’s “affinity groups” had held events aimed at specific races. School officials claimed no students or staff were excluded, but the families argued that isn’t what their children were told. The complaint quoted an email where a middle-school teacher said a specific “healing space” was “for our Asian/Asian-American and Students of Color, *not* for students who identify only as White.”
Under the settlement, Wellesley agreed not to “exclude students from affinity-based group sessions or any other school-sponsored activities on the basis of race.” The district won’t identify events “as intended only for certain racial groups.” It “will provide notice” of affinity-based group sessions “to all grade-eligible students, regardless of their race.” Announcements will feature a disclaimer saying that “this event is open to all students regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation.”
The parents also challenged Wellesley’s policies regarding so-called bias incidents, which they argued were “overbroad” and could apply to “virtually any opinion or political belief.” The settlement says Wellesley has “rescinded and will not reinstate” its original bias-reporting procedures.
The district’s new policy makes clear it isn’t a bias incident if a student “wears a political candidate’s button to school” or if “a teacher encourages a political discussion in class and students disagree with each other.” Protection for political speech is welcome, since colleges have sometimes claimed it’s a bias incident if students use terms like “illegal alien” or dispute claims about transgender identity.
But Wellesley still says bias incidents can include acts of “unconscious bias.” Parents Defending Education says the families will watch what happens next, and we’ll see whether it takes another round in court to protect students’ rights. Meantime, the victory could spur cases elsewhere—or, better, give other districts like Wellesley a reason to change their policies before they get served.
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