Attacks on Equity Offices are Attacks on the Students they Serve
Our Students, Staff, and Families need the Equity Office
If you’ve been reading the news in the last two weeks, it is pretty clear that political rhetoric pertaining to “DEI hires” has become code for efforts to roll back qualified women, Black, Hispanic, disabled, and Veteran hires. On social media, anti-DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) rhetoric is frequently unleashed against non-white, non-male, disabled, non-straight, non-cis, and/or non-Christian people in leadership positions or high-skilled jobs, thereby intimating that all who do not fit a narrow racial, religious, gender, sexuality, and gender identity are “diversity hires” and are therefore unqualified for the job.
It is astonishingly bigoted rhetoric that has somehow overtaken our country…in the 21st Century! Many of us find this anti-DEI rhetoric disturbing and understand the historical significance of it. It is reminiscent of Jim Crow era reactionary language and discriminatory actions against formerly enslaved people. Nevertheless, Trump has taken steps to fire those in DEI offices across the federal government, while eliminating DEI positions and efforts in private business and at all levels of state and local government.
Unfortunately, there is now an effort by his supporters to question or attack equity and DEI at all levels of government and the private sector, as well. Retired lawyer Mark Spooner of the Fairfax Monitor, Independent Women's Forum (IWF) Senior Fellow Asra Nomani of the Fairfax Times, and Independent Women's Network (IWN) Chapter leader Stephanie Lundquist-Arora of Washington Times wrote recycled talking points and carelessly questioned whether DEI or Equity offices deserve to exist.
However, their lack of attention to crucial details–like “What is DEI, or What do equity offices do?”–undermines their credibility and weakens their argument. It is not helped by the amplification of the Fairfax Monitor’s blog by both the Fairfax GOP and known Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) defined hate group, Parents Defending Education (PDE), which highlights the political nature of these blogs and articles. It is important to note that all three have sued Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) or its school board multiple times.
Their three hit pieces on the employees of the Equity Office in FCPS seem long on right-wing dog whistles, and short on information, except in the case of Nomani who provides people’s names and salaries! Now, that is doxxing!
Key points they fail to address or accurately analyze are:
What is DEI?
What is the purpose of the FCPS Equity Office?
What critical roles do the employees in the Equity Office play in our school system?
What the heck is “equity” anyway?
First, DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Fortunately, for you, 4 Public Education explains DEI thoroughly in Anjy Cramer’s blog, DEI is Civil Rights. However, if you don’t have time to read her great piece, here is a simple definition of why DEI is necessary in schools:
Acknowledges that every person within its community is entitled to dignity and space to exist. Within public schools, DEI departments work to maintain a civilized school and organizational culture celebrating differences among students and staff. This enables students to access learning and makes them more likely to succeed; enabling teachers to best support students while encouraging staff retention at the same time. - Anjy Cramer
Second, Spooner and Nomani fail to do the most basic of research on their targets. If they had, they would know the FCPS Equity Office is: “committed to fostering a responsive, caring, and inclusive culture where all feel valued, supported, and inspired to thrive within FCPS.” I’m unsure why the three authors and the political groups they represent have a problem with that since there is proof that students learn better and that a responsive, caring, and inclusive culture ensures better education outcomes for students and their families.
Third, if Spooner and Nomani are going to question the entire Equity Office, they need to evaluate the actual jobs of those they are targeting, or in Nomani’s case doxxing. For example, they question the need for the following positions in a 180,000 student and 25,000 staff school district without even looking at the FCPS website!
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) admission staff who oversee the TJHSST application process.
Title IX investigators who are “responsible for the divisionwide responses to reports of Sexual Harassment affecting students so every reported incident is fully addressed and resolved.”
Hearings office conducts discipline hearings, makes discipline recommendations to the School Board, maintains records and statistics of discipline data, provides school-based assistance, and conducts employee grievance hearings.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion office is “committed to serving every student by name and by need” by ensuring appropriate policies and practices, advocating for those who are marginalized, and providing staff training. They work “to improve how everyone at FCPS works with students, families, and colleagues in ways that are empowering and responsive to all.”
How could anyone be against those roles in such a large and diverse school system? Why would anyone want to stall the education of children who are neurodiverse, disabled, multi-lingual, lower income, LGBTIQA+, and/or advanced in STEM?
Fourth, there is a legitimate definition of “equity” and it is not simply “equal outcomes” as all three authors claim. Equity in a classroom involves “taking student opportunities and infusing them with support and resources personalized to each student.” Why? Because not all students start from the same place–additional resources can bring students up. To help students achieve their goals, equity comes into play, giving each student the support, challenges, and resources they need, whether it is reading support for dyslexics, team taught classes or extra testing time, or advanced math classes.
In far right circles, “equity” and “DEI” have become dirty words (a.k.a., dog whistles) that are part of some coded nefarious plan to destroy merit. Whether or not they know it, each of these authors has fallen into the trap of pushing this far right, coded definition of equity and DEI. Unfortunately, anti-DEI efforts are “the latest attack on racial equity and free speech” per the ACLU:
“First, Donald Trump and right-wing extremists attacked government trainings on racism and sexism. Then the far right tried to censor classroom instruction on racism and sexism. Next, they banned books about [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] and LGBTQ lives. Today, the extreme right’s latest attack is aimed at dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.”
This holds true today with President Trump attacking DEI and equity in several 2025 Executive Orders and firing federal employees whose titles included the word “equity.” However, he did not get in real trouble, even with his base, until Trump blamed DEI for the plane and helicopter crash that rocked DC National Airport this past Wednesday. His assertions went beyond merely blaming diversity hiring for the crash into eugenics territory where he refers to needing hires that are “psychologically superior.”
While Spooner, Nomani, Lundquist-Arora, the Fairfax GOP, and PDE question the “price tag of equity in Fairfax County,” we should all remember the value of a public education that educates and includes all students and their families.
No one should be excluded from our schools and all should be made to feel welcome.
Please join me to support our FCPS staff who work in the Equity Office whose very livelihoods and critical jobs in our FCPS community are under attack, even while many of them work hard every day to ensure students are included and can achieve success in our public schools.
Especially now, as they support students and communities that have have lost friends and neighbors on the American Airlines plane that crashed into a helicopter on January 29th. Our hopes and hearts are with the families and friends of all of the victims of the crash.
Author's Note: I woke up with the realization last night that not only do these hit pieces by Spooner, Nomani, and Lundquist-Arora lack research and critical thinking, but I suspect that they serve another purpose: to distract from the authoritarian, unconstitutional, dehumanizing, cruel, and ignorant Executive Orders and actions by the current Presidential Administration. They are red herrings to distract Fairfax County, which is filled with federal workers, contractors, and their families from the absolute horror of the federal scene. Rather than question the constitutionality of the President's actions, these three writers chose to target hard-working FCPS employees who improve educational outcomes for our students. It's just a thought.
