(The Center Square) – Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes pushed back this week against state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne after he threatened to pull funding from Kyrene School District due to its diversity, equity and inclusion policy proposal.
Mayes said Horne threatened to withhold federal funds because the district proposed a policy “that signaled the district’s commitment to creating a kind, empathetic and respectful workplace.”
The attorney general said Horne had no legal basis for his threat.
“Rather than do his job and ensure that funds appropriated by Congress and the Legislature reach Arizona schools — as the law requires — Superintendent Horne is choosing to engage in ideological nonsense at the expense of students and teachers,” she said.
Mayes added that Arizona schools should be able to “ignore baseless, politicized threats from the State Superintendent’s office, which has no legitimate role whatsoever in blocking the distribution of these federal funds.”
Last week, Horne warned that the school district would have to give up over $1.5 million in federal funds to support its new proposed policy. Kyrene School District has schools in Chandler, Guadalupe and Tempe and serves grades K-8.
Horne said in a press release that the school district’s governing board passed a “Staff Social Emotional Wellness Policy.”
This policy states that “Policy 1-204 Equal Opportunity – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion outlines Kyrene’s commitment to value, respect, and celebrate diversity in the workplace.”
However, according to its agenda from its April 8 meeting, the governing board did not pass this policy but adopted it for its first reading.
Horne said Arizona school districts or charter schools that do not follow the federal DEI guidance will “lose their federal dollars.” The superintendent also said the U.S. Department of Education has been clear about DEI language in schools.
“Schools ignore the federal guidance at their own peril. This is not an empty threat, and districts and charter schools need to treat it seriously,” Horne said.
The U.S. Department of Education has given K-12 schools until April 24 to sign a document stating they have dissolved their DEI programs. If school districts do not follow this order, they could lose federal funding.
The superintendent also said DEI was about “racial entitlement,” which he said does not promote hard work, conscientiousness or creativity.
“If those advocating for it succeed in having it replace individual merit, we will become a mediocre, third-world country,” Horne said. “China will become the dominant power.”
