LYNNWOOD — Edmonds College and the Edmonds School District are continuing Diversity, Education and Inclusion programs even as the Trump administration has pushed to eliminate them.
But the college board of trustees is also in the process of rewriting its policies regarding its diversity programs to emphasize all students can participate so there can be no accusation that the college is discriminating, Edmonds College President Amit Singh said in an interview.
At their annual collaboration meeting on May 20 at Edmonds College in Lynnwood, the school district and the college agreed to continue outreach efforts to increase the number of Latino students who go to college.
Sixty-five percent of Edmonds high school students fill out applications for college financial aid, considered a reliable indicator of students who enter college, compared to 35% of Latino students, according to data presented at the meeting.
Officials from both organizations pledged to do more to offer more students the economic opportunities that often come with a college education. Latino students make up more than 24% of registered students in Edmonds School District, according to school district statistics.
Both college and district officials said they were holding more events to help Latino students and their families with filling out the financial forms, including instructions in Spanish.
Edmonds College officials said they were also giving Edmonds high school students the opportunity to hear panels of Latino Edmonds College students discuss the college experience.
On Feb. 14, the Trump administration directed state education departments to certify that K-12 school districts were not running Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs — or risk losing federal funds. That was followed by a February 18 Trump administration demand that colleges and universities stop running DEI programs.
The initiatives continue
College President Singh said the college wasn’t breaking the law because its efforts to recruit more Latino students are part of overall efforts to attract more students to the college.
“You can call it diversity, you can call it anything, but the thing is what you’re doing behind (the scenes) that is important,” he said in an interview. “And we want to make sure that we are in compliance with the law, to make sure that diversity efforts are open to anyone,” he said.
Singh said the college board of trustees is expected to present a resolution at its June 12 meeting, rewriting the diversity policy to note that diversity programs are open to everyone.
Washington state law requires community colleges such as Edmonds to have diversity efforts in place, and the state Legislature this year did not take any action to rescind that policy.
This is in contrast to so-called “red states,” like Idaho, that ended diversity programs in higher education this year following the Trump directive.
Idaho’s ban on DEI goes into effect on July 1.
Washington’s diversity efforts also extend to elementary and secondary education.
In a statement made on Feb. 20, Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal said although diversity, equity and inclusion have “unfortunately been weaponized,” the idea has long been a core component of the education system.
“These principles are the reason we provide a high-quality public education to all young people from all backgrounds and walks of life,” Reykdal wrote. “Public education is a civil right in our country, and that in itself is DEI. I’m proud of the work we’ve done in Washington state, and we are not going backward.”
Reykdal said on April 9 that the state of Washington would not go along with the Trump administration and certify that school districts were not running DEI programs.
Washington is one of 19 states that filed a federal lawsuit in Massachusetts on April 25 objecting to a Trump administration order directing states to certify their compliance with civil rights laws in public schools, including ending diversity inclusion and inclusion programs.
Randy Diamond: 425-339-3097; randy.diamond@heraldnet.com.
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