Washington state students have seen a drastic drop off in reading and math proficiency since 2019, but Seattle Public Schools is proposing a budget that would give $850,000 more to "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (known as DEI or DIE) programs than all language arts and STEM courses combined.
Here is how far students across the state have regressed when it comes to basic proficiencies in reading and math:
Beyond these statewide numbers, nearly 60% of Seattle students have subpar proficiency in science and math, and this number rises to 70% and 82% for black and Native American students, respectively.
The district is attempting to fix this problem by further investing in DEI initiatives that teach students to see the world through a Marxist hierarchy that categorizes everyone into "oppressed" and "oppressor" and promotes individuals based on genetic characteristics instead of skill and merit.
From the Washington Free Beacon:
The Seattle school district's budget recommends around $1.3 million for scholarships and programs in "Native Education," about $1.5 million for "African American Male Achievement," and nearly $1.3 million for the "Department of Racial Equity Advancement." Another $600,000 would be set aside for "Ethnic Studies and Black Studies," a district representative told the Washington Free Beacon, as well as $650,000 for a Latino academic support and cultural studies program. In addition, each of the district's three budgetary goals has to do with improving educational outcomes just for black students.
Under the proposed budget, however, math and literacy courses receive around $1.6 million each, and science courses get $1.3 million—around $850,000 less than the district's DEI programs.
The proposed budget will receive a vote in July.
The policy is not isolated to Seattle, but is becoming commonplace in many school districts that have seen marked decline in student test scores and participation.
School districts as far away as Madison, Wis., are pursuing similar budgetary initiatives to Seattle, allocating tens of thousands of dollars a year for a Native American land-acknowledgment plan, among other measures.
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