Comment on FR Doc # 2026-12861

I am writing in support of rescinding the current Equity Assistance Center (EAC) Program regulations. Originally established to help schools comply with desegregation efforts, the program has expanded into a federally funded network of regional organizations that promote ideological initiatives. As a parent, substitute teacher, and the Michigan Education Director for a national faith-based organization, I regularly hear concerns from Michigan parents, teachers, and students about ideological programming promoted by their local schools and the Michigan Department of Education. As a public school teacher, my husband has received dozens of hours of professional development on equity and talking with students about racism instead of training designed to strengthen instruction in his content area and improve student achievement. Michigan's regional EAC, Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium (MAEC), has promoted resources such as "Teaching Kids About Identity and Bias"(i) and "Helping Educators Support LGBTQ Students"(ii), illustrating how the program now supports initiatives that go well beyond its original desegregation mission. One "Equity Audit"(iii) tool recommends that schools provide "an inclusive visual environment" in which "halls, displays, and classrooms exhibit pictures and information about diverse students and cultures." Elsewhere, the tool identifies "gender identity/sexual orientation" as one of the forms of diversity schools should represent. Guidance like this not only encourages schools to venture into highly controversial social issues beyond their academic mission but also risks placing districts in conflict with parents who have opted their children out of instruction or exposure to sexual topics. The Department of Justice is currently investigating multiple Michigan school districts over concerns related to such issues (iv). Please rescind the current EAC regulations and end the use of taxpayer dollars to support ideological initiatives that extend beyond the federal government's original purpose for the program. Thank you. Endnotes: (i) https://maec.org/resource/teaching-kids-identity-bias/ (ii) https://maec.org/resource/helping-educators-support-lgbtq/ (iii) https://maec.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Criteria-for-an-Equitable-School-2020-accessible.pdf (iv) https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-opens-investigations-three-michigan-school-districts-required-instruction