The Monroe County Community School Board approved an anti-racism policy on Tuesday, after deciding not to vote on it during last month’s meeting.
District leaders made several changes to the policy since its first reading in December because of feedback from the community, including changing the policy’s name from a Racial Equity Policy to an Anti-Racism Policy.
Read more: MCCSC delays final reading of racial equity policy
Bloomington High School South sophomore Jael Davis said the name change makes her optimistic.
“I feel like that clearly tells us what we're looking for and what we're wanting to be implemented into the MCCSC school district," Davis said.
Last year, Bloomington High School North Senior Sabrah Wagner shared her experiences of racism in MCCSC schools and called for the board to create a policy. She was one of the student ambassadors to help write it.
“I feel like a lot of people were nervous to like, share all the information, because we all see our school as a really great place," Wagner said. "And it's really hard sometimes to acknowledge that there are some flaws that need to be addressed to make it continue being a great place."
The revised policy includes a commitment that the district will introduce plans to track and enforce the policy’s objectives as soon as possible.
Policy 5518 - Anti Racism Second Reading 02282023[76] by Indiana Public Media News on Scribd
Wagner said she expects the district to have guidelines ready to review in the near future. Long-term, she hopes the policy will prevent the district from ignoring racism and encourage conversations from leadership.
MCCSC Superintendent Jeff Hauswald thanked The Monroe County NAACP Branch for helping the district with the policy.
"We're in a better place, we have a better policy," he said.
The Monroe County NAACP Branch President Maqubè Reese said her organization was happy to work with the district before it approved the policy. She called it a robust commitment to anti-racism.
Another change is a new sanctions and monitoring section. It states that the board will receive reports on racial harassment and discrimination incidents.
