Superintendent warns board of federal guidance on race-based preferences; district pauses equity advisory work and flags potential $12M–$17M federal funding at‑

Superintendent Matt Degner told the Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors on March 11 that the district is tracking multiple education bills at the statehouse and is monitoring a recent "dear colleague" letter from the U.S. Department of Education interpreting a Supreme Court ruling on race-based preferences.

Degner said district staff have been working with legal counsel to interpret the federal guidance that followed the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. He said three immediate district actions include: reviewing and revising district website language that references "diversity, equity and inclusion," pausing the work of the district's equity advisory committee, and reframing titles and some job…