“Equity Training” Requirement for Public Employees Didn’t Violate First Amendment, Even When …
From Henderson v. Springfield R-12 School Dist., decided Friday by Eighth Circuit Chief Judge Steven Colloton, joined by Judges James Loken and Jane Kelly:
During the 2020-21 school year, the school district required employees to attend a presentation entitled, “Fall District-Wide Equity Training.” Attendees were paid for their time and received professional-development credit.
The school district provided in-person and virtual training. At the in-person training, school officials instructed the attendees on how to become “Anti-Racist educators, leaders and staff members.” The district defined “anti-racism” as “the work of actively opposing racism by advocating for changes in political, economic, and social life.” The presenters cautioned that actions like practicing color-blindness and remaining silent about racism perpetuated white supremacy.
The presenters stated, “We want to stress that we are not calling you as an individual a white supremacist. That being said, certain actions or statements … can support that structural system of white supremacy.” The presenters also displayed an “Oppression Matrix” that categorized various social groups as a privileged, oppressed, or border group. For example, within the category of race, the matrix identified white people as a privileged social group, biracial people as a border group, and Asian, Latina/o, black, and native people as oppressed social groups. At the virtual training, the school district provided similar instruction.
Some employees were also required to complete online modules in which they watched videos, read articles, and answered multiple-choice questions relating to equity and diversity. For example, one question asked: “When you witness racism and xenophobia in the classroom, how should you respond?” Employees could select one of two options: (1) “Address the situation in private after it has passed”; or (2) “Address the situation the moment you realize it is happening.” The module deemed the second option the correct answer. If the employee selected the first option, then a message appeared explaining why the choice was “incorrect.” To complete the module, employees had to select the “correct” answer.
The training sessions were interactive. At the in-person training, attendees were asked to speak with one another about specific prompts related to the presentation’s content. In the online training, participants were similarly required to speak with other virtual attendees. Both training sessions included an exercise called “Four Corners,” in which attendees had to hold up a sign stating whether they agreed or disagreed with various prompts, such as “I believe my students or staff feel safe in Springfield” and “I believe [the school district] provides an engaging, relevant and collaborative learning and working environment.
At both training sessions, instructors displayed a slide entitled “Guiding Principles” in which one line read: “Be Professional—Or be Asked to Leave with No Credit.” No attendee was asked to leave, denied pay, or refused credit because of his or her conduct during the sessions. No employee discipline resulted from these sessions.
Brooke Henderson attended the virtual training. Henderson is a Section 504 Process Coordinator. At the training, Henderson expressed her view that Kyle Rittenhouse acted in self-defense during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020. The presenter responded that Henderson was “confused” and “wrong.” Henderson alleges that after this dialogue with the presenter, she stopped speaking out of fear that she would be asked to leave for being unprofessional. She also alleges that during the “Four Corners” exercise, she responded that she agree
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