In a letter issued to all schools and school board members in Maricopa County, Maricopa County School Superintendent Shelli Boggs gave notice that they are legally obligated to conform to an Executive Order from President Donald Trump ending illegal Diversity Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies.
Within the letter, Boggs detailed a series of specific steps that all schools must now take to erase the illegal DEI-based hiring, training, and curricular practices that stand in violation of federal law. According to a press release from Maricopa County Schools, Boggs emphasized that while the Superintendent lacks jurisdiction to directly enforce compliance upon the schools, it strongly encourages that they do so in order to “restore education to its core mission.”
“DEI programs have been used as a tool to divide students, teachers, and parents rather than foster true unity and equal opportunity,” Superintendent Boggs said. “Schools should be places of learning, not ideological indoctrination. Education must return to its fundamental purpose—teaching students the skills they need to succeed—not promoting political agendas that undermine academic excellence.”
The release continued, “One of the most critical responsibilities of this office is the appointment of school board members, who share the authority to set policies within school districts. Under Boggs’ administration, appointees must be committed to meritocracy and academic excellence over politics. Schools should reward hard work and achievement, not lower standards in the name of equity. Education should empower students with knowledge, critical thinking, and opportunity—not divide them by race, gender, or political ideology.”
The Superintendent’s letter also informed school administrators that the county will be monitoring their compliance and has offered resources to assist with the transition away from DEI policies. Superintendent Boggs restated a “commitment to ensuring that all students receive a high-quality, merit-based education free from politically driven programs that promote division.”
Parents within the Deer Valley Unified School District (DVUSD) raised concerns over compliance with the Trump administration’s directive to end Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
Last Friday — Valentine’s Day — the U.S. Department of Education (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent a letter to the Arizona Department of Education (AZED), along with the departments of education in the remaining 49 states, ordering an end to DEI in all public schools, from K-12 to higher education. The deadline for compliance is Feb. 28, 2025.
Just 11 days left now. As good as they may sound, MTSS and Portrait of a Graduate are problematic and often incorporate DEI.
The Deer Valley Unified 2024-2025 handbook is not available, so one can only assume that's one of the more public documents that needs necessary changes… https://t.co/Qi63QxU29Wpic.twitter.com/sIhAVk6K4b
Additionally, ED opened an OCR complaint line to report unlawful discrimination within public schools based on its letter. ED characterized DEI as unlawful discrimination.
“Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism’ and advanced discriminatory policies and practices. Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them—particularly during the last four years—under the banner of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (‘DEI’), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline,” stated ED. “But under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.”
Arizona Women of Action (AWA) expressed concerns over DVUSD’s Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and Portrait of a Graduate.
“As good as they may sound, MTSS and Portrait of a Graduate are problematic and often incorporate DEI,” stated AWA.
In an X post over the weekend, DVUSD candidate Tiffany Hawkins said she had yet to hear from district leadership about their plan to address the DEI eradication directive. Their next board meeting is next Tuesday.
Deer Valley District has 14 days to comply with removing DEI ordered by US dept of ed. pic.twitter.com/vEV6gtrqFq
MTSS and Portrait of a Graduate are two subcomponents within the DVUSD Strategic Plan for 2023-2028’s “Excellence in Student Learning” component.
The MTSS component relies in part on a “campus equity flowchart,” which is no longer available.
Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) governing board member Sandra Christensen indicated parental concern over DEI eradication compliance in other districts as well.
“We all do [need to comply],” said Christensen. “Districts need to address this.”
DEI ideology hasn’t been stripped immediately from DVUSD’s website — the ideology remains.
The district’s Gifted Services parent portal page includes a section on “Culturally Fair and Inclusive Practices in Serving Gifted Populations” which illustrates its claims of DEI using the oft-employed “Reality-Equality-Equity-Justice” cartoon depicting fans attempting to watch a sports game from different vantage points over a fence.
“The identification and dismantling of barriers must be included as part of the definition of equity since the road to identification for gifted services contains several barriers for [Culturally, Linguistically, and Economically Diverse,] CLED students,” stated the webpage. “Gifted characteristics manifest themselves differently in CLED students — some may even appear as negative characteristics[….] Various gaps (which include cultural perception, beliefs, opportunity, etc.) of CLED students and teacher perceptions or stereotypes of giftedness.”
The district claimed barriers included the exclusion of CLED parents due to their ignorance of the gifted services program, educators’ inability to recognize gifted characteristics in CLED students, CLED parents’ reticence to access gift services due to an inability to complete referral forms, and inherent bias against CLED students within assessments or use of national norms.
The Gifted Parent Portal also included Social and Emotional Learning resources.
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The ASU ‘Aliento’ Club, a pro-illegal immigration activist nonprofit funded by George Soros, hosted a training workshop entitled “Know your Rights,” aimed at providing illegal immigrant students with strategies to avoid deportation.
According to Cronkite News, the event “aimed to empower students with information about their rights following the changing landscape of U.S. immigration policies.” Co-chair of Aliento at ASU Emily Sotelo Estrada told Cronkite, “All of these students … they have homes. They have families. And it’s important that they know their rights. So the purpose of this presentation was to, for one, educate them, because we at Aliento believe that that’s the most important, most powerful tool that we all have.”
In a post to X, Aliento stated that the organization had made presentations to “240+ students, 21 schools, 75 conversations,” as well as “two powerful days at the AZ Capitol!”
The group also celebrated an Aliento protest led by Estrada against a peaceful tabling demonstration by the College Republicans United at Arizona State (CRU) on February 5th.
We’re proud of Emily Sotelo Estrada, Co-Chair of Aliento at ASU, for speaking to AZ Central and standing up for our students. Every student deserves to feel safe on campus.💖#ASU#AlientoAZpic.twitter.com/Ek0RGdTgUl
As reported by the Arizona Daily Independent, Aliento was founded by Reyna Montoya, who was the recipient of $132,200 in seed-money from George Soros’ Open Society Institute in 2016-18 “to organize people directly affected by the immigration detention system to generate narratives that emphasize the humanity of those in detention and to create policy recommendations for reform.”
The workshop provided ASU’s illegal immigrant and activist students with useful tips such as how to readily identify ICE vehicles, the laws surrounding legal searches, and contact numbers for immigration attorneys.
In an image published by Cronkite, an Aliento slide can be seen advising illegal immigrants to “Have a U.S. citizen or someone who is not undocumented drive,” and “Limit your driving to essentials,” in addition to advising that with police, “Know any interaction could lead to an arrest,” and that they should “Discern emergency from help,” suggesting that they should avoid contacting police except as a last resort.
The organization also advised illegal immigrants to explicitly use their U.S.-born children as proxies to interact with state agencies suggesting: “ONLY give information to US Children when asking for public benefits – DO NOT LIE or give inaccurate info.”
Diana Cortes, program chair for Aliento at ASU, told the university publication, “The fear and everything that’s growing – we’re just here to listen to the people’s concerns and address them. We’re having ‘Know Your Rights’ and all of those workshops in response to what’s being asked from us from our community.”
A bill to help improve students’ focus at schools around Arizona passed a legislative committee.
Last week, the Arizona House Committee on Science & Technology passed HB 2484 “to require school districts and charter schools to adopt policies that regulate student access to the internet and limit the use of wireless communication devices during the school day.” State Representative Beverly Pingerelli is the sponsor of the legislation.
In a statement that accompanied the announcement of the bill’s progress, Representative Pingerelli said, “The excessive use of cell phones in schools is a growing crisis that is harming our children’s education and well-being. It’s time to restore order in the classroom. My bill ensures that schools establish common-sense policies to keep students focused on learning rather than scrolling through social media and texting during class. The goal is simple: devices should be ‘away for the day’ so kids can engage in their education, free from constant digital distractions.”
Pingerelli added, “Education should be about equipping our children with knowledge and skills, not competing with TikTok and Snapchat for their attention. This bill restores a learning environment where teachers can teach, and students can succeed.”
Additional information about the bill revealed that it would “require school districts and charter schools to adopt policies that restrict student access to social media on school-provided internet and limit personal device use during instructional time, allow teachers to grant access to social media only when necessary for educational purposes, [and] ensure that students can use their devices in emergencies or when directed by a teacher for academic work.”
On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from Stand for Children, AZ School Administrators, and Arizona School Boards Association signed in to support the proposal; while a representative from the Arizona Education Association signed in as neutral.
State Representatives Biasiucci, Gress, Hendrix, and Márquez joined as co-sponsors of the bill.
In committee, all nine members of the panel voted to send the bill to the full House, giving this proposal an overwhelmingly bipartisan win ahead of its next step in the legislative journey.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
With Arizona leaders unifying statewide to back the Trump administration’s effort to make schools healthy, one Maricopa County leader is opposing.
Fountain Hills Town Council initially was unified in its support of HB2164, or the “Arizona Healthy Schools Act”: a bill to clean up the foods offered in the state’s public schools. The town council voted unanimously to issue a letter of support for the bill during its regular meeting on Tuesday. However, after the meeting officially ended, one of the council’s Democrats rescinded her vote.
Even with the rescinded vote from council member Peggy McMahon, the motion still passed.
Welp, that was a short lived beautiful moment of unity for the health of our children.
Peggy McMahon pulled her support now that the cameras are off, so I guess we’ll edit this tweet to say “the council majority”
Vice Mayor Hannah Toth — who led the council effort to file a letter of support — expressed her disappointment with McMahon’s change of heart.
“Welp, that was a short-lived beautiful moment of unity for the health of our children,” posted Toth on X. “Peggy McMahon pulled her support now that the cameras are off, so I guess we’ll edit this tweet to say ‘the council majority.’ What can ya do.”
In her motion to pass the letter of support, Toth pointed out that the U.S. is virtually the only developed country that hasn’t banned the ingredients prohibited in the Arizona Healthy Schools Act.
“[These are all chemicals] that are linked to behavioral issues, cancer, autism, even mental health because it’s chemicals. A lot of it is derived from crude oil,” said Toth. “All cities and towns in my opinion should be coming together in support of this bill – this is something that helps secure our future.”
The motion was celebrated initially as a bipartisan movement to back the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. MAHA is the primary focus of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary nominee and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“[President Trump] asked me to end the chronic disease epidemic in this country,” said Kennedy. “And he said, I want to see results, measurable results, in the diminishment of chronic disease within two years. And I said, Mr. President, I will do that.”
Last month, Texas Republican Congressman Chip Roy published a 47-page report, “The Case for Healthcare Freedom,” detailing America’s health crisis as supplementary guidance for the MAHA movement.
The Arizona Healthy Schools Act, introduced by Republican State Rep. Leo Biasiucci, would restrict public schools from serving or selling “ultraprocessed” food and drink during school hours. The bill defines “ultraprocessed” foods and drinks as those which contain one or more of the following ingredients: potassium bromate, propylparaben, titanium dioxide, brominated vegetable oil, yellow dye 5 or 6, blue dye 1 or 2, green dye 3, or red dye 3 or 40. The bill doesn’t prohibit parents from providing their students with foods or drinks containing these ingredients.
An amendment to the bill also prohibited third parties from selling ultraprocessed food and drink on school campuses. The amendment also directed the Arizona Department of Education to post on its website a standardized form for public schools to certify its compliance with the legislation as well as a list of public schools certified by the department for their compliance with the legislation.
The bill passed out of the House Education Committee recently with unanimous bipartisan support.
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Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced his endorsement of new legislation proposed by Rep. Leo Biasiucci that would forbid Arizona schools from providing foods on campus which are deemed harmful. Horne was joined by Education Committee Chairman Rep. Matt Gress and Registered Nurse, Sen. Janae Shamp, announcing the bill to “cut the chemicals,” on Tuesday.
In a press release, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) revealed that HB 2164 would establish a ban on schools serving or selling foods found to contain ingredients that scientific studies have found to be harmful to students health, including potassium bromate, propylparaben, titanium dioxide, brominated vegetable oil, yellow dyes 5 and 6, blue dyes 1 and 2, red dyes 3 and 40, and green dye 3.
“Our kids deserve better than artificial dyes and cheap fillers in their lunches. If we’re providing meals at school, they should be real, nutritious food—not the kind of processed junk that’s banned in other countries. This bill puts the health of Arizona’s children first, plain and simple,” Biasiucci said in the release.
In a statement, Horne said, “The time has come to eliminate harmful foods from public schools and vending machines. Synthetic food dyes are associated with behavioral issues which then affect a child’s ability to perform academically and engage socially.”
Horne explained the extent of the discrepancy between food ingredients permitted in other developed nations versus those allowed by federal authorities in the U.S.
“There are approximately 10,000 ingredients approved for use in the U.S. versus about 400 in Europe, and these issues need to be addressed. Replacing foods that contain these ingredients and synthetic dye with those that are minimally processed is achievable. Manufacturers have already worked over the past few years to remove trans-fat and reduce sodium to meet USDA requirements. ADE also administers the ‘Try it Local’ program which provides additional reimbursement to school nutrition program operators who purchase locally grown, minimally processed foods.”
Horne concluded his comments adding, “This is a familiar crusade for me. In 2006, I was successful in getting sugared sodas out of schools, and I am just as enthusiastic about seeing this effort succeed. I urge passage of this bill, and the governor should sign it.”
The move was hailed by actor, health food advocate, and an increasingly prominent figure in Arizona conservative politics, Rob Schneider, who said, “The needs of the most precious members of our community, our children, must come first. We can no longer allow school lunches to be junk foods filled with toxic chemicals, unhealthy additives, dyes and preservatives. Our kids deserve better! I look forward to working with Representative Leo Biasiucci and the wonderful Chef’s in Arizona to bring healthy organic real food to our state school’s lunch programs!”
In a post to X, Schneider followed up, “The KEEP AMERICA’S CHILDREN SICK Food Lobbyists are TRULY DESPICABLE (SEE VIDEO BELOW) & I am GLAD THE ARIZONA LEGISLATURE is NOT FALLING FOR THEIR ‘SICK’ LIES. They are JUST AS AWFUL PEOPLE AS THE CIGARETTE companies that CLAIMED THEIR PRODUCTS WERE NOT ADDICTIVE or CANCEROUS!”
The KEEP AMERICA’S CHILDREN SICK Food Lobbyists are TRULY DESPICABLE (SEE VIDEO BELOW) & I am GLAD THE ARIZONA LEGISLATURE is NOT FALLING FOR THEIR ‘SICK’ LIES. They are JUST AS AWFUL PEOPLE AS THE CIGARETTE companies that CLAIMED THEIR PRODUCTS WERE NOT ADDICTIVE or CANCEROUS! https://t.co/CMay5GWfxB
Senator Shamp, who as President Donald Trump pointed out, “is not a politician—she’s a registered nurse,” and holds her degrees from ASU in Molecular Biosciences & Biotechnology with a Nursing degree from Grand Canyon University, enthusiastically endorsed the bill.
“What we feed our kids matters. Schools shouldn’t be serving ultra-processed, chemically engineered, junk food. I’m proud to back HB2164 because Arizona’s children deserve better. And this is just the beginning—I’m excited to launch the Make America Healthy Caucus with Rep. Biasiucci to start making real change. Let’s Make Arizona Healthy Again!”
