Washington state’s Clover Park School District recently approved a new policy that will almost certainly encourage Tacoma area school administrators to consider race when disciplining students.

The new district directive urges school staff and officials to establish disciplinary policies that “may be adapted to individual student needs in a culturally responsive manner.” In a culturally responsive manner?

Critics understandably claim the new approach is in effect a race-based disciplinary policy that will encourage harsher or lighter punishments based on a student's race, with white students being disciplined more severely. 

However, the district insists that it is simply following a state law passed in 2021 that compels districts to “align with Cultural Competency, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion standards.” It insists the new guidelines neither are nor will be largely race-based.

Now tell us the one about the three bears, please. We know Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion standards have nothing whatsoever to do with race, right?

John Arbeeny, a former deputy mayor of Lakewood, is also a skeptic. He expressed skepticism of the district’s assertion in a letter to the editor of the Suburban Times. Arbeeny wrote: “So 'culturally responsive discipline' is merely a deceptive cover term for 'racially/ethnically based discipline' which seeks to 'even out' the numbers of disciplinary incidents based upon racial/ethnic populations or some other undefined criteria.”

Just so, John. Just so.

How come “progressives” believe everything should be based on race? How can this seem like a good idea, whether logically, spiritually, or based on historical fact?

The underlying logic: “Black people aren’t able to control themselves. It’s not even their fault, really. They just can’t help it. They were born that way because of their skin color. Melanin, you know. White people? They are all racist. Inherently. Due to their skin color. They can’t help it. Just are. Then there are Native Americans, Asians, Latinos …and don’t even get me started on the Jews.”  

What could possibly go wrong or be wrong about a policy such as this? In a society gone stark raving mad, one that is shedding its long-time anchors of religion and equal justice under the law, inverting the notions of morality and tolerance, shaming the pursuit of excellence and the very idea of objective “standards,” and mocking traditional concepts of morality? Everything.

Race-based discipline and justice? How’d that work out for us before? Why not race-based health care? A race-based wage scale? Race-based restaurant reservations?

It is once again time for us to abandon race-based policies in favor of sanity-based policies. That much is clear.

One might even say it is black and white.