New Hampshire schools are being told to review their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in regards to President Donald Trump’s recent mandates, according to New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR). This developing story should leave us incredibly worried about what impacts this review may bring and the effects it will have on students and staff.
Among the many issues presented by the lack of DEI programs, the acceptance and treatment of nonbinary and transgender individuals are among the most concerning. Trump has “limit[ed] the federal government’s recognition of gender to male and female,” and there are already issues with trans girls not being allowed to play on girls’ sports teams in New Hampshire, according to NHPR.
If schools are forced to comply with these orders, the mental and physical safety of trans and nonbinary students will be compromised. For schools, this is a difficult decision; on the one hand, their federal funding could be stripped if they do not listen, but on the other, they also have a commitment to protecting and supporting their students.
It does not help that, according to NHPR, the message schools received was incredibly vague and “does not provide school districts guidance on how to determine whether their programs comply or how the mandates … impact local schools.” With this lack of direction, schools are being advised to seek legal guidance to ensure they do not lose valuable funding.
Unfortunately, public schools cannot afford to jeopardize their federal funding if they are to continue offering enriching opportunities and resources to their students. This being said, the message to schools did mention “rescind[ing] the [Joe] Biden administration’s book ban guidance and dismiss[ed] 11 complaints challenging book bans,” according to NHPR. Dictating which books are allowed to be in schools restricts the knowledge available to students, diminishing the quality of education they receive.
In addition, schools were not given explicit information on how to respond to Trump’s mandate that teachers are not allowed to discuss the inherent bias that exists among certain groups. All this does is leave schools to wonder just how much real information they are still able to teach their students and risk students receiving an underdeveloped education.
This message to N.H. schools poses threats to the safety of students and staff, as well as to the quality and validity of knowledge. Schools and communities cannot look past this unjust development in our children’s education. Now is the time to think critically about what is going on around you and to speak up for the rights of all of those in our community.
It should be the goal of our society to teach in a way that makes all students feel valued, but these new mandates are pushing us away from meeting that goal. Without stable DEI programs, numerous problems arise and an unbelievable amount of people suffer. This is not the time to ignore facts, but rather the time to support all members of our community.
Sophia Tanguay can be contacted at
stanguay@kscequinox.com
