Horne praises federal government for opposition to DEI programs
- Tue, Feb 18 2025 •
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- News
For immediate release: February 18, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
Horne praises federal government for opposition to DEI programs
Joins fight Horne began in 2007
PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne is praising a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education to educators nationwide warning that DEI racial discrimination by educational institutions imperils federal funding and constitutes civil rights violations.
Horne said, “I am glad the world is catching up to me. In 2007, I opposed the Ethnic Studies program in the Tucson district because it was based on racial discrimination using Critical Race Theory. In recent years, the use of CRT and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs have embedded discriminatory practices and attitudes among our school children. This is unacceptable. We are all individuals, entitled to be judged by what we know, what we can do and our character, not the color of our skin, but CRT and DEI programs promote racial division, which has no place in society, including the classroom.”
He added, “Since taking office in 2023, I have required that grant and contract recipients getting money from this department affirm that they do not use DEI. I also require every public school to publicly attest on their school report card whether or not they respect all students as individuals, avoiding concepts like Critical Race Theory and protect instructional time from excessive distractions labeled as Social Emotional Learning. I also reiterated my opposition to these divisive practices in my most recent State of Education speech where I drew a conclusion between people like me who value the American tradition of individual merit and those who would substitute racial entitlements. I stated, ‘…the focus on racial entitlements does nothing to encourage hard work, conscientiousness, or creativity. If our country adopts that philosophy, we will become a mediocre third world nation.’ I am grateful that the federal government is now committed to fighting this discriminatory phenomenon.”
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