Milton parents petition against school equity policy

By Guy Page

A Milton parents’ group has circulated a citizens’ petition asking the Milton School Board to reject a proposed District Equity Policy.

At issue is the crucial difference in meaning between ‘equality’ and ‘equity.’

“Equality provides an even opportunity for all participants to excel based on merit and regardless of background,” the Vermont Parents Against Critical Theory (VPACT) petition states. “Equity seeks to promote equal outcomes artificially by redistributing resources benefitting some at the cost of others.”

“The MTSD Equity Policy aims to eliminate all inequities that exist in its current school system by influencing ‘policies and procedures on Curriculum, Personnel, Discipline, Operations, Speech, Assessment, Athletics, Co-curriculars, Data, Budget, and others,’” the petition states.

The latest draft of the policy is now under review by the school board’s policy committee. VPACT wants the school board to reject the final version when presented to the school board early next year.

Explaining that “language, like identity, is not static,” the draft policy defines terms, including:

Affirmation: “To recognize social/ economic disparities and historical disadvantages based on individual and group identity such as their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, experiences, ideas, and beliefs.”

Equity: “Procuring access to human and constitutional rights and privileges for everyone, with the understanding that achieving so requires different approaches because our barriers are unique.”

Gender identity: “A person’s actual or perceived gender identity, or gender-related characteristics that are intrinsically related to a person’s gender or gender-identity, regardless of the person’s assigned sex at birth.”

White: “Race or ethnicity in the US) the cultural and observable characteristics of people of Caucasian descent as well as those from other origins but whose skin color and culture lead to a lack of racialization as ‘brown,’ ‘Indigenous,’ or ‘Black.’ The legal definition of ‘white’ in the United States has changed over the years.”

Once the members of the newly-created, standing Advisory Board are appointed, it would develop “procedures which incorporate equity-conscious processes and practices in all operations, purchasing, and partnerships, to include the consideration of partner organizations and businesses’ existing policies and procedures regarding their practices in relation to equity and whether these are in alignment with those of the MTSD.”

The Advisory Board would answer directly to the (appointed) superintendent, not the (elected) school board. The role of the elected board would be limited to “review advisory panel reports and recommendations as they are created and provide prioritized and extended space for committee-appointed representatives to bring matters directly to the board.”

Curriculum and instruction changes would include “ensuring that curricular and instructional plans are designed with the least barriers possible from the start” and “providing teachers and schools with enough resources so that instruction is characterized by a high level of purposeful choice and personalization rather than narrow standardization of instruction.”

Transgender students’ participation in sports also would be addressed: “In addition to existing ongoing trainings and agreements on hazing, harassment, and bullying, require that all athletes, co-curricular club members, coaches and department personnel engage in Athletic Virtue-building conversations that directly relate to matters of equity, including, but not limited to anti-racism, tolerance, allyship, gender identity in sports, inclusion, diversity, and athletic virtue each season.”

The policy takes a strong stand against “misinformation,” including what it calls “Election-related Conspiracy Theories:”

“All curricular materials and school-level instructional plans will incorporate superintendent-issued guidance of what constitutes misinformation, intolerance toward innate differences, hate speech, and stereotypical narratives or tropes. Examples of limitations include Holocaust Denial, Election-related Conspiracy Theories, or speech that targets protected classes or that is primarily intended to disrupt the education program. The superintendent or their designee shall reiterate expectations for the acquisition and utilization of evidence-based content, the advancement of critical thinking, and the exposure to difficult yet necessary historical truths across all content areas.”

The group’s organizers say they will be meeting with lawyers to discuss the equity policy and presentation of the petition.

Guy Page is publisher of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. Reprinted with permission.

Image courtesy of Milton Facebook page

7 thoughts on “Milton parents petition against school equity policy

  1. First off taking the power from elected board and handing it to the superintendent with out the power of oversight isn’t constitutional. Milton’s superintendent is over stepping her job the board should immediately ask for her resignation and seek a new superintendent along with any staff or board members who choose to take these radical policies . The fight is local but this is just the beginning it will spread rapidly throughout our state . We need to win it here in Milton before we loose our kids saying in there education

  2. This Milton thing is long overdue. Good for them for fighting. It’s not just about “equity” in schools it’s about a generation that is soon to be in charge of our country. To touch on the above commentator I want to say that teachers are not behind this although many are fine with it. Some are not but have no choice; speak up and get doxed by school/students/parents. Schools are wasting MILLIONS on this crap. Restorative practice employees, Diversity/Equity/Inclusion DEPARTMENTS, EL departments with interpreters and EL teachers co-teaching for full teacher salaries, massive human resource departments, School “coaches”, Directors of this and that with “assistants”. I’m missing a ton but the cost and performance of schools are not on the teachers. They are doing what they’re told. I could single-handedly cut millions of fat in districts and there would be no difference in learning. Actually, it would improve.

  3. The irony of the proposed policy is overwhelming because the curriculum to be approved by the Superintendent is expected to achieve “the advancement of critical thinking …”. The policy itself (and the advocacy behind it) would defy that goal.

  4. Good for Milton parents to fight back from the teachers Union child indoctrination. …VT spends the third largest per pupll $ in USA ($19,400)….but test outcomes year after year show declining scores that are average and below average. Teacher compensation goes always up $$. Teachers Union puts ALL monies into Democrat elections, and when elected they “rubber stamp” whatever the teachers Union demands back, for their largess. In this case it is…..Critical Race Theory, BLM, LBGTQ…sex training for elementary school kids…then Climate Change (telling your kids they will soon die of it)…then white privilage – giving them nightmares of guilt…then organic foods, BST, ozone holes, acid rain…then all VT farmers are bad because they pollute the earth (unless organic)…..the forced electric cars (which few can afford)… Oil is evil…Wall Street is evil….Money is evil…Supposed rich are ALL evil… Class Envy, Class Warfare…Socialism is great…GUNS are evil & cause all murders – but not the people who shoot them…..and the list goes on and on

    There is no more “Reading, Writing and Arthimatic”. VT teachers are at the forefront & causation of the “Dumbing Down of America.”. PROOF? All the college kids, who they taught earlier, took fraud WOKE DEGREE’s and now they find the degree’s WORTHLES in the real world. So now THEY DEMAND a $450 BILLION bailout forgiveness for their indoctrinated bogus degree & student loans? How typically “liberal”. And WHERE did all that fake indoctrinating wokeness come from ? The K-12 teachers in Vermont.

    • I LOVE thhis from the “Milton Manifesto”….and is it all a lie….elction misinformation and it NEVER HAPPENED? Because They say so? Lie! Here is what Milton states:

      “The policy takes a strong stand against “misinformation,” including what it calls “Election-related Conspiracy Theories:”

      And here is the thruth coming out jjust today!….Musk is releasing the Twitter ELECTION FRAUD:

      “Bombshell Twitter files suggest censorship driven by politics and connections, not facts
      “This is a battle for the future of civilization,” Musk says in explaining why he released the files. “If free speech is lost even in America, tyranny is all that lies ahead.”

      Democrats do fraud elections. Twitter DID….Facebook DID….GOOGLE DID!! In 2020 and 2022….because they DID NOT fraud in 2016 when they were ALL SO SURE Hillary would win! She lost to Trump ((no fraud for her)…so for 2020 and 2022 Democrats went into OVERDRIVE to fraud…and covid did it for them…the ability to mandate “universal mail in ballots”…. then ballot harvestinng, NO ID to vote, riigged ‘Drop Boxes”….which fraudulant “voter mules” easily dropped in massive fraud ballots….it is ON TAPE in the documentary 2000 Mules.

      Did anyone notice the massive Red Wave in FLorida? fFom top to bottom, ALL win by Repubs. HOW did that happen in FLA, when all other swing states had an 100% opposite result? Simple answer! Repubs won FLA…because the PEOPLE voted honestly. FLA has a mandatory Voter ID. FLA bans Ballot Harvesting. FLA Banned Drop Boxes….and that halted vote fraud mules..and the biggest way Dems fraud is taht FLA does not have “Universal Mail in”. And because of strict voting rules, NO FRAUDS… and FLA had elction results done within 24 hours.. ALl other swing states are a MESS….b/c of mail in, no voter ID, ballot harvesting, drop Box,,,, frauds! It isn’t WHO votes…it is WHO controls & counts the Ballots! DEMS DO!

      • “””Musk says Twitter was ‘acting under orders from the government to suppress free speech’ as he releases Hunter Biden laptop files that show execs replying ‘handled’ to requests from ‘Biden team’ to delete tweets”

        Elon Musk has said that Twitter was acting on the orders of the federal government when it allegedly censored stories on Hunter Biden’s laptop .”

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