Durham Public School District Policies

DPS promotes policies and practices that discriminate based on race.

In 2024, Durham Public Schools applied for a grant from the U.S. Dept of Education to fund their “Growing Together” project. The grant application admits the DPS program is meant to segregate students based on race and preventing what they call “minority group isolation.” Their goals are:

  • “Moving all schools closer to racial demographics of the district as a whole and preventing Minority Group Isolation.”
  • “Increasing the number of underrepresented racial groups in specific application programs.”

DPS has an Equity Policy that states:

  • “We name race as the primary predictor of outcomes in society and, thus, prioritize racial equity as foundational to the dismantling of all disparities.”
  • They will center hiring based on race: “Commit to equity-centered practices through the recruitment and retention of diverse teachers and staff that are representative of student demographics.”

DPS redrew their school boundaries based on race:

  • “Boundaries were drawn dividing the county into five regions: North, East, Central, Southeast, and Southwest with reasonable comparable demographics including racial demographics.” INSERT SCREENSHOT—BOUNDARIES BASED ON RACE

DPS has a radical policy called “LGBTQIA+ and Gender Supports Policy” with a subheading “Supporting Transgender or Transitioning Students.” The policy states:

  • “Schools have a unique and powerful opportunity to support transgender students, including those going through a gender transition.”
  • “Regardless of how students transition or express their gender identity, all students have the right to have their gender identity recognized and respected by their school community.”
  • “The student is the person who informs the school about their transition. School officials must be mindful that transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming youth often experience significant family challenges. Some transgender students have not talked to their parents about their gender identity and/or do not want their parents to know about their transgender status based on safety concerns or concerns about a lack of acceptance. The school principal or their designee should speak with the student first to ascertain concerns the student may have, what support may be needed to keep the student safe at school, and how to involve the student’s parents, if at all.”
  • “Every student and staff member is entitled to be addressed by the name and pronoun that aligns to their gender identity that is consistently asserted at school. The student or staff member is responsible for identifying their own name and pronouns in alignment with their personal gender identity.”
  • “Students are not required to obtain parental consent or a court ordered name and/or gender change as a prerequisite to being addressed by the name and pronoun they select that corresponds to their gender identity. Teachers and other school staff, including substitutes and volunteers, should be made aware of and honor a student’s request to be referred to by the name and pronouns that align with their gender identity. It is important to note that students who are non-binary or gender non-conforming may prefer gender neutral pronouns such as they, ze, or other pronouns. These other pronouns are used when the gender is unknown or not assumed and replace he/she.”
  • “The intentional and persistent refusal to respect a student’s or staff member’s gender identity or chosen name and pronoun is prohibited and may constitute discrimination, harassment or bullying under policy 1710/4021/7230, Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying.”
  • A transgender student or staff member must be permitted to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity consistently asserted at school. Access to locker rooms and changing rooms will be resolved on a case-by-case basis as part of individual students’ Gender Support plans. Transgender students and staff members shall not be required to use a restroom, locker room or changing room that conflicts with their consistently asserted gender identity and shall not be prevented from participating in physical education or sports activities on the basis of locker room availability.