Children targeted by reparations activists

The California Reparations Task Force aspires for their final report and recommendations to serve as an exemplary model not just for other states, but for the entire nation. The Berkeley Unified School District hopes to take inspiration from this state task force.

However, since the state task force’s recommendations involve favoring or disadvantaging students based on race and ancestry, it would be wise for the district to refrain from following this example.

The formation of Berkeley Unified’s own reparations task force is a response to the historical legacy of enslaving Black people. While California was admitted as a free state and Berkeley Unified was the first major school district to voluntarily desegregate its schools, the district’s connection to this legacy is tenuous. Interestingly, the state task force’s report commends Berkeley Unified policies as a model for enhancing access to public schools, particularly highlighting the district’s elementary school admission process that utilizes “diversity categories” to assign students. The report acknowledges the significant racial integration achieved across the district as a result of this admission process.

Considering that Berkeley Unified is already regarded as a leader in promoting racial equity in school access, it is crucial for them to demonstrate why reparations are still necessary to address racial justice.

BIDEN UNDER PRESSURE TO ACT UPON REPARATIONS

Nevertheless, the school district task force has been meeting since April to develop recommendations for providing reparations to students who are descendants of slaves. In this regard, members were encouraged during their June meeting to review the state’s report and invite the state task force to discuss its recommendations for public education.

The state task force’s recommendations, found in Chapter 23 of the report, involve implementing a range of policies that distribute opportunities unequally based on race and ancestry. Unfortunately, such policies will ultimately disadvantage the children affected.

For example, the state task force suggests providing additional funding directly to African American students and offering free tuition to students eligible for reparations. Furthermore, they propose funding “healing circles” or “sharing circles” for African American students who experience discrimination at school. However, consider the students who are denied such funding solely because of their race or lineage, despite facing similar disadvantages.

The state task force also recommends specific policies to increase African American students’ access to advanced coursework, with special consideration given to descendants of enslaved individuals. These policies include covering the costs of exams, transportation, books, and other required materials for advanced coursework, as well as investing in the preparation, recruitment, and support of African American teachers and counselors. While students and teachers of all races could potentially benefit from such assistance, they will be deprived of it simply because they do not belong to the state’s preferred racial or ancestral group.

In addition, the task force suggests that the legislature establish a fund or scholarship program to support African Americans pursuing education degrees, emphasizing the importance of having at least one teacher who shares their racial background. However, it is equally important to prioritize teachers’ ability to effectively teach, regardless of their skin color. As Justice Thomas has noted regarding similar efforts in higher education, this kind of racial representation in the teaching staff only serves as a facade, focusing solely on appearances rather than performance.

Another area targeted by the task force’s recommendations is student discipline. They propose implementing “racially equitable disciplinary practices using culturally responsive positive behavioral interventions and supports.” It is fundamentally unfair and fundamentally wrong to determine disciplinary action based on a student’s race. Teachers should not discipline or refrain from disciplining students based on their race.

If the legacy of slavery is systemic racism, the solution is not to further introduce race into the system. Unfortunately, the recommendations made by the state task force aim to do just that. If Berkeley Unified were to follow these recommendations, it would minimize the individuality of its students and reduce them to arbitrary racial categories, attempting to rectify actions from our nation’s history in which they did not participate. No student should be judged or victimized based on their race or ancestry.

Fortunately, the district would be protected by the law if it were to pursue the state task force’s discriminatory policies. California’s Constitution, through Proposition 209, explicitly prohibits the district from discriminating against individuals or groups based on race or ethnicity in public education. Similarly, the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits Berkeley Unified from treating its students differently based on race. With the recent Supreme Court decision that ended affirmative action in college admissions, it should be evident to every school district that “eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” This principle applies to K-12 schools as well.

California has the opportunity to acknowledge the past without perpetuating the problem of racial distribution. All students, regardless of their skin color and ancestry, deserve equal access to a quality education. This approach serves as a better example, both constitutionally and morally, for the state to set and for Berkeley Unified to follow.

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