SEATTLE – The federal Department of Education is investigating whether Seattle Public Schools used grant money improperly to send students to a conference on “white privilege.”
Twenty high school students, along with two staff members and at least one teacher, attended the diversity conference earlier this month in Colorado Springs, Colo., district spokesman David Tucker said. It was billed as a way to examine “the challenging concepts of privilege and oppression and offer solutions and team-building strategies to work toward a more equitable future.”
The conference included workshops and discussions on multicultural education and leadership, social justice, racism and other topics.
It was the first time the Seattle district participated in the 8-year-old annual conference.
The district budgeted about $10,000 for the trip, including money from a federal Small Learning Communities grant.
Those federal grants are awarded to high schools to create smaller learning environments, such as “schools within a school.”
The investigation is not to determine the educational value of the conference, but to see whether it fit the grant money’s criteria.
“Any time there are allegations of mismanagement of federal taxpayer money, we are concerned, and we take appropriate actions to correct the problems,” according to a statement released Thursday by Department of Education spokesman Eric Earling.
“We are requesting information from the district about this expense, including whether it was charged to the SLC grant.”
Tucker predicted the district would be found in compliance with the grant guidelines.
“We do feel the money was used properly,” he said.
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