Massachusetts school district settles lawsuit over racial affinity groups

A school district near Boston settled a federal lawsuit with a conservative group that sought to prevent the district from having affinity group meetings for students of color.   

Key Players

Parents Defending Education (PDE) is a conservative activist group whose mission is to prevent schools from “from activists promoting harmful agendas” about race, gender, and sexuality. Based in Arlington, Virginia, it is active nationwide and has filed lawsuits on behalf of parents in Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio, NBC News reported. Its founder and president, Nicole Neily, runs Speech First, another nonprofit, and has worked at Cato Institute and FreedomWorks.   

Wellesley Public Schools launched its office of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in 2019 to create and implement a plan to institutionalize DEI in its schools.

Charmie Curry has been director of the district’s DEI office since its inception .

David Lussier is superintendent of Wellesley Public Schools.  

Further Details 

The affinity groups that came under fire were created in early 2021. On Feb. 10, according to the lawsuit, the district held an affinity group listening session “solely for black and brown students.” 

A month later, on March 18, 2021, another affinity meeting followed for Asian and Asian American students. It was held two days after the spa shooting sprees in Atlanta, Georgia, where eight people were killed, six of whom were Asian women, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

When a white teacher emailed Curry to ask if she could attend, she replied that they could not, writing that the goal was “to hold the space for the Asian and Asian American students and faculty/staff.” Another email from a teacher to students specifically asked white students not to attend.  

According to The Swellesley Report, these emails were shared with other parents, causing widespread controversy. In response, the district released a memo signed by Curry and Lussier on March 19, 2021, saying the affinity groups were part of an “evidence-based district strategy that amplifies student and faculty voices on various issues” and adding it “enhances [students of color’s] sense of belonging.”

On May 12, 2021, PDE filed a federal civil rights complaint against the district. It claimed the district was violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. It sought an immediate investigation of the district and to “remedy unlawful policies and practices.”

Another point of controversy was the school’s bias and discrimination rules. According to ABC News, the district’s policy on discriminatory speech imposed “overbroad, vague restrictions” on student speech and was used to attack and punish students who held “unpopular views.” This policy, along with a decision to display Black Lives Matter flags outside multiple Wellesley public schools, resulted in a June 10, 2021, open letter signed by over 50 parents, who called for the flags to be taken down.          

On Oct. 19, 2021, the PDE lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court. It asserted that Curry was responsible for creating the affinity groups, and Lussier for upholding them. 

“Under the guise of ‘racial equity,’” the suit claimed, the groups were discriminatory and amounted to racial segregation. The lawsuit asked the court to stop the school district from holding any more affinity group meetings and asserted that the bias and discriminatory speech policy violated students’ Free Speech. 

Outcome 

Wellesley Public Schools and PDE settle lawsuit

On Feb. 7, 2022, the school district and PDE reached a settlement allowing the district to continue the affinity groups, but requiring it to make clear that all students are allowed to attend the meetings, regardless of race. The settlement also allowed the district to keep its bias reporting system in a revised form that upholds Free Speech, ABC News reported.

PDE and school district both declare victory 

According to Boston.com, PDE considered the settlement a win. Neily said the agreement “sends a clear message that racially segregating students in public schools is wrong — and there will be consequences.”

Meanwhile, the school district stated that the settlement had “unequivocally protected its right to the use of affinity group sessions.” The district also celebrated the settlement for allowing the school to “pursue its goal of providing a safe learning environment free of bias and discrimination.”