Watchdog Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Wisconsin School District

Protect the Public’s Trust alleges violations by West Allis-West Milwaukee School District.

Government watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) announced today it has filed a complaint alleging a Wisconsin public school district has violated Titles VI and VII anti-discrimination laws. The complaint was submitted after a concerned citizen discovered the district’s plans to continue imposing discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in their hiring practices and student policies.

The West Allis-West Milwaukee School District publicized its “Strategic Plan,” stating its intention to hire individuals on the basis of “diversity” while intending to keep “equity” as one of its educational foci. The Strategic Plan also makes it clear that the district plans to give more opportunity and access to those of certain ethnicities. These types of policies are inherently discriminatory.

Additionally, the Strategic Plan references several times its intentions to impose DEI on its staff and students, with the district outright stating that it “will prioritize hiring and retaining a diverse workforce that better reflects our student population” so that the district increases “diversity in the workforce across key demographic categories from 10% in 2025 to 25% in August 2030.” Such numerical goals have often been determined to run afoul of anti-discrimination laws.

This complaint is the latest in a series of apparent violations PPT has referred to the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice for investigation.

“If it isn’t clear to everyone yet, what is happening in Wisconsin, Ohio, and many other states is an unfortunate symptom of how our education establishment has lost its way,” said PPT Director Michael Chamberlain. “Reading, writing, and arithmetic have been pushed aside in favor of ideologies that discriminate against certain students and pit students against each other based upon characteristics they cannot control. The fact it is happening in areas where the public would be loath to accept such dogma is evidence of the groupthink and susceptibility to fads that are far too prevalent among those in charge of teaching our kids.”

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