VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies in the Virginia Beach Public School District are once again in the spotlight.
On Monday night, the Virginia Beach NAACP hosted a town hall allowing the public to question school board members about the recent decision to continue suspending these DEI policies.
At the town hall, community members and school board representatives engaged in open dialogue about the DEI policies.
One attendee questioned whether any peer-reviewed research influenced the board’s decision to oppose DEI accessibility in schools.
“No,” replied Dr. Alveta Green, a school board member.
The meeting unfolded after the school board voted last week to maintain the suspension of DEI programs, a decision originally passed in April. This move initially followed concerns from the Trump administration about potential federal funding cuts for schools with DEI-focused programs.
"I was looking at what was in the best interest of students," Green noted, while expressing her concerns about DEI misunderstandings among some board colleagues.
Alongside Green, board member Matt Cummings, who also voted against the suspension resolution, attended the panel.
“I did not see a strong argument for saying these things are in violation," he said.
Community members also addressed Superintendent Dr. Don Robertson regarding the removal of the district’s DEI dashboard. One audience member questioned why such tools were no longer available, to which Robertson responded.
"The equity dashboard is under review... the data elements with the dashboard are still available to our schools for academic purposes for the remainder of the school year," Robertson said.
Dr. Robertson assured attendees that the spirit of DEI remains, despite the program suspensions.
"We are not shifting gears in Virginia Beach... we care about all students... we want everybody to have what they need to be successful," he stated.
Previous coverage by News 3 has highlighted responses from those supporting the removal of DEI programs, arguing that prioritizing DEI could detract from addressing student disciplinary issues and the district's teacher shortage.
This article was researched, reported, and written by a WTKR News 3 journalist. AI was used to minimize typos and ensure style continuity.
