A New York mother is requesting that the U.S. Department of Education’s Title IX investigation into her school district be expanded to include diversity, equity, and inclusion matters, both issues associated with a resolution passed by the district’s board.
In early May, the Department of Education launched a Title IX investigation into the Saratoga Springs City School District (SSCSD) after U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik asked them to, a department release stated.
The investigation concerns policies allowing males in female spaces and sports as laid out in an SSCSD board resolution entitled “Affirming Our Support for Every Student,” according to the release.
New Yorker Amanda Ellithorpe sent a letter to the Department of Education, asking it to expand this investigation to include DEI issues that are likewise present in the resolution.
Ellithorpe is a mother of two children in the affected district and a former SSCSD Board of Education trustee.
The SSCSD resolution outlines the district’s “commitment to equity, inclusivity, and diversity,” referencing a DEI policy and other DEI-related initiatives.
Ellithorpe wrote in her letter that the policy named in the resolution – Policy and Regulation 0105 – ”states a SSCSD belief that ‘every student deserves equity in education.’” The policy “identifies ‘marginalized’ students.
Additionally, according to Ellithorpe, providing DEI opportunities for students is stated as the policy’s goal, while it also “seeks to acknowledge ‘the historical injustices and inequalities that have shaped our society.’”
Ellithorpe told The Center Square that SSCSD’s controversial resolution needs to be “rescinded and a statement needs to be made affirming their commitment to protecting [girls’] sports per Title IX.”
“If the School District wishes to have a policy that supports all students, it should also consider women’s privacy, women’s ability to compete in women’s sports, and should not disadvantage one race/ethnicity/etc. to the benefit of another,” Ellithorpe said.
Ellithorpe stated she believes that “policies outlining this commitment” to protect girls “need to be implemented.”
“Likewise, I think a policy is needed that [board of education] trustees will no longer bring political ideological goals to the board table,” Ellithorpe said.
Ellithorpe told The Center Square that ““DEI in and of itself is political indoctrination.”
“By labeling some oppressors and others oppressed creates unnecessary division and emotional harm to students and staff,” Ellithorpe said.
“DEI is also discriminatory ideology in that it treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups, rather than as individuals,” Ellithorpe said.
“As a result of the implementation of DEI policies and practices, standards have been lowered, merit-based performance has decreased,” Ellithorpe said.
Ellithorpe additionally told The Center Square that “forcing staff to undergo DEI training and participate in mandatory book clubs when they could be focused on improving teaching practices and finding ways to improve student outcomes, is harmful to students.”
“Staff had to undergo DEI struggle sessions with consultant Generation Ready and were assigned books like ‘Letting go of Literary Whiteness,’” Ellithorpe told The Center Square.
“By creating ‘equity goals,’ [the board is] trying to equalize outcomes which benefit no one,” Ellithorpe said.
“While there is a massive DEI committee tasked with working on DEI, there is nothing to address decreases in academic achievement,” Ellithorpe said.
Ellithorpe stressed to The Center Square that “readers need to know how ineffective many [boards of education] are.”
“They are simply ceremonial, rubber stamping anything the administration proposes,” Ellithorpe said.
“If readers are troubled by what they are reading, they need to contact their local school district and Department of Education, as well as their local representatives,” Ellithorpe said.
Ellithorpe’s letter also mentioned that “resisting” Trump’s executive orders that seek to eliminate DEI from education and bring schools back under the Civil Rights Act is “evidence of an intention to discriminate.”
The Trump administration has been working to eradicate DEI from education with executive orders, a Dear Colleague letter, and more, as The Center Square previously reported.
The SSCSD Board of Education has not responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.
