Akron Public Schools is moving to adjust its diversity policies, including laying off but potentially rehiring its chief diversity officer, after threats from the Trump administration to pull funding for schools and universities with diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The APS Board of Education Monday night will hear a handful of resolutions, presented by Superintendent Michael Robinson, to repeal several racial equity-related policies and to change the board's Equity Committee to one called the Operations Committee.
The district in a press release Thursday said it's doing its best to comply with a "Dear Colleague" letter from the U.S. Department of Education issued on Feb. 14.
"APS is conducting a meticulous review of all existing DEI-related policies, programs and practices to ensure full compliance with the Department of Education's guidance and federal civil rights law," the district said. "Our commitment is to provide a learning environment that is both inclusive and compliant with all applicable laws."
The school district has sent reduction-in-force notifications to at least three employees, including Chief Diversity Officer Carla Chapman, the Akron Beacon Journal reported Friday, although the board was expected to vote Monday on the creation of two new $100,000-plus positions, including a position called "coordinator of social services and student support."
The "Dear Colleague" letter was sent to all schools, colleges and universities across the country and, while it largely focused on demanding schools comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2023 barring affirmative action-based hires and college admittance, it also took aim at other programs.
"Other programs discriminate in less direct, but equally insidious, ways," the letter from the U.S. Department of Education reads. "DEI programs, for example, frequently preference certain racial groups and teach students that certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens that others do not. Such programs stigmatize students who belong to particular racial groups based on crude racial stereotypes. Consequently, they deny students the ability to participate fully in the life of a school."
The letter is not an official executive order from Trump's office, or the result of any laws changed by Congress and approved by Trump; it only notifies schools of how the Department of Education will be "interpreting existing law." It gives schools 14 days to comply. Some attorneys have challenged the legality of the directive.
APS said in Thursday's press release said it received $85.7 million in federal funding in 2024.
Elsewhere in the region, Kent State University President Todd Diacon said in a campus-wide email Feb. 18 that the university will likely need to "alter long-delivered services" in response to changing federal and state laws and interpretations of those laws.
"We do not yet have all the answers about the impact of these directives, but as we gain clarity, we will provide further information," Diacon said. "Our commitment remains steadfast: to ensure that all members of our community feel valued, supported and heard."
