Biden admin gives millions to NC school districts for DEI, restorative justice

A new investigative report from the nonprofit advocacy group Parents Defending Education finds the Biden administration’s Justice Department issued DEI, restorative justice, and social emotional learning grants to four North Carolina school districts over the course of his administration.

The total allocation of approximately $2.5 million went to the Ashe County School District, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, and Durham Public Schools. An additional $1 million was awarded to the Public Health Authority of Cabarrus County, but the amount has not yet been accepted.

The grants are part of a $100 million package, identified by Parents Defending Education, allocated by the Biden administration since 2021. The grants went to 36 states and around 946 school districts, impacting approximately 3.2 million students.

Parents Defending Education noted that some grant projects “proposed the use of external consultants to introduce restorative practices to staff and students, citing organizations like … the International Institute for Restorative Practices, Second Step, and Courageous Conversations About Race. These initiatives often aimed to improve school climates for communities disproportionately affected by systemic inequalities, especially LGBTQ+ and BIPOC groups.”

“These grants reflect that DEI and Restorative Justice continue to infect our educational institutions,” noted Dr. Robert Luebke, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation. “Unjust discrimination in order to eliminate discrimination is never right and shouldn’t be tolerated. Neither should failed programs that erode legal rights and trivializes crime. These programs not only don’t work—they continue to have harmful impacts on our society. There are more than enough reasons why local school districts should end all DEI and Restorative Justice Programs.”

Specific to North Carolina, the Ashe County School District received $607,423 in grants to partner with RTI International to create a “Restorative Justice in Ashe County Schools” project.

“We will work with district and school staff, professional organizations, and school resource officers to develop and pilot restorative justice practices in Ashe County Schools,” the funding award page reads. “Implementing evidence-based restorative practices will improve school climate, reduce disciplinary infractions, and increase school safety.”

Similarly, the DOJ project funded in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in the amount of $933,662 focuses on nearly 600 students in grades 6-12 annually assigned to the district’s alternative program, with the majority being involved in physical aggression or violence-related incidents.

“The project will apply a tiered case management model which utilizes prevention and intervention strategies,” the funding award page reads. “The well-researched school practices of [Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports] and Restorative Practices will be interwoven to increase the impact of the student case management model. Unique to this violence prevention model will be the use of emotional regulation skill development, goal setting and extended case management to provide youth alternatives to committing acts of violence.”

The nearly $1 million grant to Durham Public Schools keys in on school violence and bullying prevention, focused on 5,862 students in high school. “The project will focus on five primary activities, including training school personnel, specialized training for select staff, and educating students and caregivers. Trainings will cover Social Emotional Learning, restorative practices, trauma-informed strategies, and access to mental health resources,” the award page reads.

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