AURORA | The Trump administration’s Department of Education announced today it will investigate Cherry Creek schools district, alleging the district permits or sponsors a “wide range of racially discriminatory programming, according to a U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights announcement.
School district officials rejected the claims.
“We strongly disagree with the characterization of District programming,” school district spokesperson Ashley Verville said in a statement. “The District has not yet received a copy of the complaint. Without the complaint, we are not in a position to respond further.”
It’s unclear from a press release issued Monday by the Trump education department when the allegations occurred. A source to the Sentinel said it appeared the filing is linked to complaints filed in February and June of last year, which could not be confirmed.
“OCR is investigating allegations that the District sponsors clubs that exclude students based on race,” Department of Education officials said in their press release. “Reports further allege that the district requires teachers to consider race when assigning classes and to provide differing levels of academic support based on race. Additionally, complaints claim that the District promotes a teacher training program that restricts participation based on race.”
Department of Education officials did not immediately respond to a request for details.
Federal education civil rights officials, however, also said they are investigating the school district’s “Voices of Color Committee.”
The school district says the committee is composed “of parents, Cherry Creek Schools teachers and administrators, and community members,” according to the district website. “Our goal is to foster an inclusive and safe environment to support the success of students of color.”
The committee, which meets monthly, promotes educational success among students of color by supporting them in a variety of ways, including “building relationships between schools and family communities” and “providing parents and guardians of students of color voice and direct access to the administration.”
The state department of education and local school districts track student success by race and other demographics and have stated goals to improve standardized test scores and graduation rates for students of color.
The school district’s newest school board member, Keith Frazier, appointed to his school board seat last week, has been involved with the Voices of Color committee.
School officials say no one is excluded from the Voices of Color group.
“Anyone of any race is welcome to participate in the committee,” said school district Chief Communications Officer Abbe Smith.
Trump OCR officials said that the panel and other programs preclude some parents and students because of their race, without explaining what students might be excluded from.
“Complaints further allege that the District promoted a training program for educators entitled “Transformational Equity Experience: To Be Seen. To Belong. To Be Whole,” which teaches that the United States was founded on “white supremacy” and categorizes individuals as “oppressors” and “oppressed” based only on their skin color, not their individual decisions and actions.
The Trump administration and some local far-right organizations have long protested teaching about the history of slavery in public schools, especially that people of color still suffer from racial discrimination.
“These allegations of racially discriminatory conduct in this District seem to permeate almost every aspect of the school community, affecting students, teachers, and parents alike,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. “Federal law prohibits racial discrimination, which means that race cannot be a factor in how the school educates its students or trains its teachers. Despite this, the District seems to be basing decisions about how to support students, teachers and parents solely on race. The Trump Administration will fully investigate these allegations and enforce federal education law to the fullest extent.”
The Trump administration has previously made allegations against Colorado school districts, alleging civil rights violations.
Chalkbeat Colorado reported in March that federal education officials alleged that policies in Jefferson County Schools linked to sports participation, bathroom use and overnight trip accommodations violated a federal law stipulating that transgender students have no special rights.
Jeffco Schools pushed back against the department’s finding, saying in a statement that the Trump “interpretation has no basis in the Title IX regulations and is not supported by any binding court decision,” Chalbeat reported.