Carroll’s diversity plan faces uphill battle, uncertain future in divided community

Angela Jones isn’t losing hope that the Carroll school district will eventually have a diversity plan, but she worries about her teenage son because of the ongoing debate and division in the community.

Jones is also a member of CREED (Cultural and Racial Equity for Every Dragon), a parents’ group that wants a diversity plan in place for all marginalized children in the district.

“I am very optimistic that we will have a diversity plan in place. We can work it out in our city,” Jones said.

“There is too much evidence that the district has failed marginalized kids, whether it is over religious identity, gender identity or race. The district is dragging its feet,” she said. Jones said she and her family have been in Southlake for about 20 years, and they are invested in the community.

“Some politicians have made it easier to be ugly. I’ve seen ugliness in our community, and I just can’t stand by and watch,” she said.

Since August, the proposed Cultural Competence Action Plan or CCAP has been under fire from conservative groups such as Southlake Families and Texas Values stating that it promotes a “leftist agenda” and that “diversity police” will monitor microaggressions and audit religious groups, including Christian clubs.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram contacted Southlake Families but did not receive a response.

A statement from the website says, in part, “No parent wants a child to be bullied or to experience acts of racism. The disagreement over CCAP is not whether bullying or racism should be addressed and dealt with appropriately, but whether CCAP, an overreaching and highly political plan seeking to indoctrinate children according to extremely liberal beliefs, is the answer.”

Jonathan Saenz, president of Texas Values, said in an email to the Star-Telegram that “The Carroll ISD CCAP adds and supports controversial sexual orientation and gender identity ideology in school policy, thereby taking sides against some students and turning the hallways into an LGBT political warzone. The troubled CCAP plan creates speech police where any disagreement on controversial issues of sexuality could face strong disciplinary consequences according to the plan,” he said.

But groups such as the Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition and CREED say the plan is needed to protect marginalized students and employees.

After the school board voted to receive the 34-page plan on Aug. 3, parent Kristin Garcia sued the Carroll school district alleging that several board members violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by sending text messages discussing the CCAP outside of regularly called board meetings.

A judge also issued a temporary restraining order, halting all work on CCAP.

State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, also called on the Carroll school board to adopt the plan or face possible legal action. West’s law firm, West and Associates, is representing the parents’ group, CREED.

Earlier this month, board president Michelle Moore and Vice President Todd Carlton were indicted and arrested on misdemeanor charges that they violated the Open Meetings Act.

The controversy over the plan also spilled over into the school board and city council races. The elections are on May 1.

During a school board candidate forum Monday night, questions about CCAP led to comments from the four candidates.

Ed Hernandez and Linda Warner say it’s time that the district protects marginalized students.

“We all know the plan is not going to happen. I’m surprised this fear mongering is still going on,” Hernandez said. He added the district needs to create a common sense diversity plan.

Hannah Smith and Cameron (Cam) Bryan said that they believe enforcing the Code of Conduct is a better solution. Bryan said he has “zero tolerance” for bullying and that he favors an equal enforcement of the code of conduct.

Warner said the code is not a good solution because it is punitive and puts the burden on the victim.

“I think we are going to have to build something new; we need more than a code of conduct that is 127 pages long. We are going to have to educate our students. They just can’t click ‘I agree’ when registering online,” she said.

What’s next for the plan

The CCAP came about after two videos surfaced of students saying the n-word, and community meetings were held to discuss solutions to the ongoing concerns about racism and bullying.

Carroll formed the District Diversity Council, which spent over two years drafting the plan.

Pam Frances, a parent who serves on the DDC, said a draft of the plan was presented to the board, and the committee was going to do more work, but the restraining order brought that to a standstill.

There were new committee members who had reservations, she said.

“I’m hoping that if the lawsuit is resolved and the TRO (restraining order) goes away, we can get back to work.”

Most believe there is a need for a plan, but there is misinformation about it, she said.

“It’s incredibly frustrating. We were blind-sided by how loud and vociferous the opposition was,” she said.

Roshni Chowdhry, who also serves on the committee, said she was surprised by the level of opposition.

“I think it’s (the plan) a great starting point for us in the community to address diversity,” she said.

Chowdhry said she is a newcomer on the diversity committee, and she attended one meeting before the restraining order took effect.

“This (plan) was a draft proposal. I think it’s a great starting point for us as a community to start addressing diversity,” she said. “We are asking for a seat at the table, and we want to talk to the opposition to see what this is all about.”