Dear Friends and Colleagues,
During my last memorandum, I sent you a list of businesses that have relaxed and or eliminated any emphasis on DEI. Here is a list I received of businesses that support DEI.
I recently received the following text message that was sent to all Maricopa County Community College District employees. Although this is horrible, I encourage you to analyze why this is happening and ask your employer how are they dealing with these issues to inform your decisions in this regard.
“Dear Colleagues,
As you have seen from previous communications from the Institutional Guidance and Coordination (IGC) team, recent federal guidance and Executive Orders (“Orders”) have necessitated a complete review of our policies and practices to ensure compliance with enforcement priorities set forth by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), with an imposed deadline of Friday, February 28.
Failure to comply with the OCR’s directive could result in a federal investigation, potentially leading to a loss of federal funding, including our ability to accept financial aid. Based on the current state of affairs and as a public institution, we must comply with the law and enforcement guidance issued by regulatory agencies. Our organization has achieved incredible success in helping students across all backgrounds achieve their dreams. As well-intentioned and successful as some support activities have been for our students, some may no longer be able to continue. As we continue to assess the impact of the federal guidance, additional changes may be necessary to ensure compliance with evolving requirements. The IGC will continue to monitor these developments and share updates through its internal webpage. However, some initial changes have been identified that must take place by today’s deadline.
Key Changes:
Convocation Ceremonies, which have annually celebrated students from diverse communities and special interest groups, will not occur this year. A communication will be sent to students shortly informing them of this news. This change will not impact college commencement ceremonies. Professional growth funds provide an incredible opportunity for employees to expand their knowledge and skills. However, due to the guidance, these funds can no longer be used to attend conferences or events supported by District resources focusing on DEI activities, including race, identity, or national origin. Employees may still attend conferences, provided the primary learning focus of the activities does not exclusively revolve around these topics.
Employee Affinity Group events and activities that are centered on race, identity, or national origin will be discontinued under the current guidance. We recognize the importance of creating space for all voices, backgrounds, and perspectives to connect and be heard. However, these employee-specific activities can no longer take place under the present guidance we have received. Please note that student organizations are not impacted.
etc….”
“Thanks for any information or insights you may have.”