Federal Complaint Against Burlington School District

Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) lodged a federal complaint against the Burlington School District (BSD) following revelations by the Daily Caller News Foundation regarding potentially discriminatory hiring practices based on race.

According to reports, a Vermont school district’s strategic plan aims to enhance the number of employees identified as part of the “global majority,” a term often used to refer to non-white individuals. This was highlighted in a November report by Defending Education. PPT is urging the Department of Education (ED), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to investigate this issue and hold the Burlington School District accountable for what they describe as clear discrimination.

The term “global majority” appears 13 times in BSD’s strategic plan for 2022-2027, indicating that attracting and retaining non-white staff is a key goal. Interestingly, Vermont has a population that is approximately 90% white.

The complaint points out that the district’s plan lacks specifics about benefits or outcomes related to these hiring goals.

Beyond this terminology, which PPT claims is essentially a rebranding of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, BSD plans to create an affinity group for newly hired diverse faculty, now called “Cultural Relevance Groups” to deflect critique.

PPT Director Michael Chamberlain remarked, “DEI is not a brand. It is a civil rights violation and subverts the fundamental principles of our country. Any system that disregards merit and uses immutable characteristics like skin color or gender as the primary determinants of success is fundamentally wrong.” He suggested that the public can see through attempts by schools to mask such violations.

The district has also conducted “unconscious bias training” for its staff. Their initiative, called the “Summer Racial Justice Academy,” aimed to confront systemic racism and provide supportive environments for a “global majority” of students, according to previous disclosures.

The complaint argues that DEI practices are inherently discriminatory and in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, asserting that BSD’s strategic plan seems intended to hide potential breaches of civil rights laws.

Despite federal restrictions against using racial preferences in admissions and hiring, some schools have attempted to design alternative conditions to meet their desired demographic outcomes, sidestepping compliance with civil rights laws. The previous Trump administration took swift action against such schools and implemented significant financial penalties.