Palm Beach superintendent proposes emergency edits to district policies to comply with Title VI guidance

Superintendent Michael Burke presented the Palm Beach County School Board with proposed emergency revisions to roughly 10 board policies, saying the changes are needed to align the district with the federal interpretation of Title VI and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.

Burke said the Florida Department of Education sent a directive on April 10 requiring the district to certify compliance with Title VI by April 18. "I am recommending emergency board action due to the imminent danger due to the health, safety, and welfare posed to the public and the significant fiscal implications," Burke said, adding the district faces the potential loss of "approximately $300,000,000 in federal funding." The superintendent said the district has reviewed policies and identified language that "directly or indirectly confers an advantage or imposes a disadvantage ... based on race, ethnicity, or national origin."

The proposed changes would strike or repeal specific lines in several policies and adopt a new small-business…