Where Is the FCPS “Equity Policy”? 

As reported two weeks ago (see HERE), the Fairfax County School Board has scheduled a work session for June 20 to consider a long-awaited “Equity Policy,” which has been kept under wraps during its year-long process of development.  The Board has scheduled a formal meeting for six days after that, June 26, to vote to approve it.

But where is it???  June 20 is only two weeks away, and yet the school system hasn’t released a draft of the policy to the public.

I contacted the school system’s Director of Equity and Family Engagement, Iona Spikes, a week ago to ask that she inform me about its availability.  She responded: “You should keep an eye out as it would be linked [on the FCPS website] once the official agenda is posted.  Hope this helps.”  My answer:  Not at all helpful.

Back in February, the Equity Office published a two sentence definition of the term “equity.”  That definition was ideological and problematical for many reasons.  See “Strategic Plan and ‘Equity Policy’.”  A policy built around that definition, or any definition resembling it, would raise many important questions.  That’s why we have repeatedly urged the FCPS administrators to publicize their proposal at an early date so that the public will have adequate time to review and comment on it, and so that the School Board will have time to study it carefully and elicit input from the community.

So far, these requests have been ignored.  Hopefully I’m wrong, but it appears that the school system plans to release its proposal at the eleventh hour and then rush it through.  Assuming the draft is revealed later this week, there will be less than two weeks for the public to submit comments.  And, only 90 minutes has been allocated at the Board’s June 20 work session for discussion of the proposal, which suggests a cursory and pro forma review is contemplated.  The public be damned.

This article will be supplemented as soon as more is learned.

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