Regina Public School Board DEI Policies
A number of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policies have been introduced by the Regina Public School Board, which guide the conduct of all staff members in Regina Public Schools.
What does it mean?
Administrative Procedure #110 outlines how DEI is to be implemented within the Regina Public School Board.
1.2. The Division recognizes that various forms of racism—including individual, institutional, cultural, and structural—along with sexism, homophobia, and transphobia are embedded in our society.
This perspective is now officially adopted by the RPS, though it’s worth noting that no specific evidence is provided to support this assertion.
The document goes on to say:
1.3. Committing to and taking action towards a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive community requires both reflection and active learning. Therefore, the application of this procedure will prioritize education, resources, and support to meet the outlined accountabilities. All Division staff are expected to understand principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and they hold responsibility for implementing these principles within their areas of influence and authority.
The significance of this section is crucial. It implies that every employee at RPS is required, by policy, to implement DEI standards relevant to their role.
In practical terms, this means that an additional responsibility has been placed on every position within RPS. Successfully implementing this responsibility will require time, funding, training, and resources. Essentially, the RPS has broadened the expected outputs for each role, as additional DEI requirements and procedures must now be integrated at all levels. This leads us to consider three possibilities:
1. The RPS has secured dedicated funding specifically for the implementation of these DEI requirements,
2. The RPS is reallocating existing resources previously reserved for other initiatives to support DEI efforts, or
3. Employees are expected to fulfill these new duties without any additional resources to assist them.
It's important to emphasize that school employees already carry significant responsibilities and workloads; finding time for additional tasks can be extremely challenging. Therefore, if DEI initiatives are to be effectively implemented, there must be accompanying time and resources made available. Without these, employees will likely have to shift their focus, energy, and resources away from other responsibilities towards DEI tasks.
This discussion comes at a time when other educational institutions, such as the University of Michigan, have concluded that DEI interventions may be ineffective. So, it's essential to carefully evaluate what resources should be allocated towards DEI initiatives moving forward.
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