PHOENIX — Since President Donald Trump took office, he’s implemented a few policies that roll back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and programs. The Osborn School District is amongst those impacted.
Just last week, board member Ed Hermes told ABC15 that a grant they received from the U.S. Department of Education through the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) has been terminated.
The AZ PRIME grant is a three-year $16 million grant that helps hire, grow and retain educators that serve “high-need student populations” in the state and “will increase the effectiveness of each district’s ability to recruit, develop, support, and retain diverse educators to promote educational equity and more effectively reach underserved students.”
Avondale Elementary, Gadsden Elementary, the Osborn School District, among others, were selected for the grant in 2023.
Hermes said NIET informed the district last week that the remaining amount of the grant, around $1 million, will no longer be coming to them as a result of President Trump’s policies to eliminate any discrimination under DEI policies.
“We’re not a huge district. Our kids are really important. That million dollars is so crucial. We’re going to lose teachers and staff and it’s going to hurt our kids’ education unless we can get this reversed,” Hermes said.
“The purpose of these grants was to build educator effectiveness and improve student outcomes in Arizona. The AZ PRIME grant helps grow and retain teachers and school leaders serving high-need student populations in Arizona. NIET believes this termination is not warranted and most certainly will appeal,” Dr. Joshua Barnett, the CEO of NIET said in a statement to ABC15.
ABC15 spoke with Superintendent Tom Horne about all the DEI rollbacks happening at the national level. He told ABC15 he believes DEI programs need to go away.
“I’m opposed to DEI because I’m a passionate believer in personal merit,” Horne said. “My belief is we’re all individuals. We should all be treated as individuals and race should not be relevant to anything.”
When asked about the district no longer getting that grant, Horne said, “They should just hire the best teachers. They shouldn’t have money to characterize teachers by what their race is. They should just hire the best teachers.”
There are school board policies that have language including diversity, equity and inclusion. Horne said schools are required to get rid of that language after President Trump’s policies. He believes if schools don’t do that, they may lose federal funding.
Hermes told ABC15 he believes they are following state and federal laws.
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“We don’t make hiring decisions based on race, nationality or any protected class, period,” Hermes added. “This has nothing to do with DEI. It has to do with providing money to our teachers regardless of what background they come from and hiring educators that are going to support all of our kids regardless of their background.”
Horne added that he hasn’t personally sent communication to schools regarding DEI language changes but feels the federal communications are sufficient for now.
The US Department of Education on Thursday released an ‘End DEI’ portal, allowing communities to submit reports. Universities in Arizona are also closely monitoring new policies.
Osborn School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Robert sent ABC15 a statement regarding the termination of the grant:
“The AZ PRIME grant is one prong of the strategy we are utilizing as part of our ongoing work to strengthen student achievement in our district. The benefits of the $1 million that we receive annually through this grant are extensive, as it bolsters teacher and school leader content knowledge and instructional strategies. Osborn's schools are definitively stronger through the systems we've put in place with support from our national partners at NIET.
The grant being canceled in February leaves us to find just over $250,000 in district reserves to honor grant-funded contracts through this year. We have teacher leader, coaching positions, and addendum contracts that we will honor through the year, even though the grants are terminated immediately. However, this will leave our teachers with over $500,000 in performance-based compensation unpaid that they were counting on. It also leaves us scrambling to consider how we will address the gains we've made through these positions and this work 18 months short of the intended end of the grant.
We have reached out to many members of the Arizona congressional delegation, across the aisle and across chambers. Supporting children and teachers is not a partisan issue, and we hope for their full support. We look forward to Congress urging that the funds they appropriated make it to the districts--urban, suburban, and rural--supported by this grant through its intended conclusion date in fall 2026.”
Schools and colleges across the U.S. faceed a Friday deadline to end diversity programs or risk having their federal money pulled by the Trump administration, yet few are openly rushing to make changes.
ABC15 also heard from Arizona's three big universities and provided the following statements.
Northern Arizona University: NAU continues to evaluate federal actions and where they might affect university operations in order to determine next steps.
Arizona State University: ASU is reviewing federal actions as they are issued to assess their possible impacts.
University of Arizona: The University of Arizona is taking a measured approach toward ensuring compliance with new policies and procedures that will impact higher education institutions in the coming weeks and months. As a public institution, we will continue to adhere to all applicable laws at the local, state, and federal levels, while continuing to uphold our commitment to fostering a campus environment where everyone can thrive as we advance our academic, research, and service missions.
