Exclusive: Missouri school district accused of setting hiring quotas based on race, not merit

A Missouri school district has allegedly set race-based hiring quotas, according to a Thursday complaint from Parents Defending Education obtained by Blaze News.

PDE accused Kansas City Public Schools of “alter[ing] their hiring practices to hire educators based on race,” citing the district’s website and its Blueprint 2030 Strategic Plan.

‘Despicable pathway of prioritizing race over merit.’

The district’s 17-page document outlined its various commitments, listing its top goal for its workforce as “increas[ing] our teachers of color to 40% by 2025 and achiev[ing] a goal of 45% teachers of color by 2030.”

KCPS stated that it would achieve this target through five strategies:

1. Develop diverse and robust career pathways for non-certified staff and provide increased guidance and resources for equitable access.

2. Build and strengthen the KCPS student pipeline of future educators through programs and pathways by establishing a “Grow Your Own” student pipeline, providing tutoring and scholarship opportunities for teacher certification programs/assessments.

3. Maintain diversity recruiting partnerships, and establish targeted recruiting initiatives with Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Servicing Institutions (HSIs) and the Historic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACUs).

4. Evaluate and adjust the hiring process with a core focus on improving equitable and diverse hiring practices. Create a culturally responsive, equity-based interview tool.

5. Deploy intuitive and adaptable engagement strategies and supports to increase teacher retention on a continuous basis.

KCPS’ website states that the district is committed to “identifying inherent biases in our employment and promotion processes and protocols” and “providing implicit bias and other equity-focused trainings for staff.”

The district boasts that more than 1,200 of its employees have participated in “our implicit bias training.”

“Equity is at the center of our mission and vision of success for all. We will flourish when all of our students, staff and stakeholders authentically operate with equity at the core of our vision for success for all,” KCPS’ website reads.

PDE filed a complaint with the Kansas City Area Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requesting that the agency open an investigation into the district “for employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.”

“Kansas City Public Schools outlines four commitments in their long-term strategic plan, one of which is solely dedicated to ‘people-talented workforce and strong relationships,'” PDE wrote in a letter to the commission. “However, many of the mechanisms by which the District intends to meet these goals includes implementing hiring quotas directly related to an educator’s race, as opposed to their merit.”

Caroline Moore, the vice president of PDE, told Blaze News, “Kansas City Public Schools is following the despicable pathway of prioritizing race over merit in their hiring and retention practices.”

“How unfortunate that teachers in the district are promoted based on their race, at the expense of all students and their future endeavors,” Moore continued. “It’s demoralizing to watch from afar. No student or teacher should face discrimination in a public school.”

Blaze News reached out to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to confirm receipt of PDE’s request.

Andrea Baran, the regional attorney for the commission’s St. Louis District, responded, “Pursuant to federal statute and regulations, the Commission may not make public any information it receives pursuant to its investigative authority.”

“Therefore we cannot confirm or deny receipt of any complaint or information from Parents Defending Education or any other entity,” Baran concluded.

KCPS did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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