Missouri school district hit with civil rights complaints for special groups open only to certain races

(Daily Caller News Foundation) – A parental rights organization filed civil rights complaints Friday against a Missouri school district for allegedly hosting a multitude of programs open only to nonwhite students and staff, including tutoring services and scholarship opportunities.

The complaints by Parents Defending Education (PDE) that were filed with the U.S. Department of Education claim Kirkwood School District created “affinity groups” for students and staff that violate both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. District-operated webpages boast about recruitment efforts and special privileges awarded specifically to “Black, Indigenous, [and people] of color.”

Some tutoring services are offered exclusively to students in these groups, as well as an annual scholarship provided by the “Kirkwood Teachers of Color,” which is available only to those identifying as “Black, Indigenous, or a student of color.” Elementary students in the district appeared to have raised and donated $800 towards the scholarship.

Affinity groups hosted by the district are meant to “allow students who share an identity to gather and talk in a safe space about concerns related to that identity while promoting a sense of community as they celebrate each other” and are open only to students who “identify as students of color,” according to an email sent from Niper Middle School. Students in the groups are “excused from missed classwork” to attend meetings.

Affinity Groups Offered In Kirkwood School District (Courtesy of Parents Defending Education)

The affinity groups are also meant “to increas[e] equity for black and brown students” by combating “systematic racism that affects black, indigenous, and students of color,” the district says, though the complaint alleges the district removed the webpage “to shield their discriminatory student affinity groups.”

“Kirkwood knowingly discriminates against its students based on the color of their skin,” Caroline Moore, vice president of PDE, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The district has gone so far as to hide and change hyperlinks to affinity group resources to mask their devious intent to pit students against one another based on their race. It’s blatantly discriminatory. Parents and students in this district deserve better.”

A video series titled “Kirkwood Educational Equity Speaker Series,” which explains how affinity groups bring people who share a “common identifier” such as race together, was also removed from the district’s website for the same reason, PDE claims.

Kirkwood Educational Equity Screenshot (Courtesy of Parents Defending Education)

On the “Kirkwood Teachers of Color” webpage, the district specifically notes an intention to “hire, mentor, and retain teachers of color,” according to screenshots of the site. Another page hosted by the district titled “KSD Minority Recruitment and Networking Event” also “highlights the District’s intent to specifically recruit educators based on their race.”

The “Teachers of Color” group explicitly states that “it is a private page for Kirkwood Staff of Color,” and district staff have the authority to grant or deny access to the forum based on race, and only “staff of color” are permitted to attend the group’s events, according to the complaint letter.

Kirkwood School District Staff Of Color (Courtesy of Parents Defending Education)

“Not only are students discriminated against in this district, but the teachers are also,” Moore said. “Teachers of particular races are put on a path of success, while others are tossed to the side, repeatedly passed by for job opportunities solely based on their race. This is beyond the pale. Teachers of color receive scholarships, mentorships, and go to expense-paid conferences. Teachers in the district are taught to teach students differently based on their race.”

The Kirkwood School District did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.