On January 23rd at 10:23 a.m., board member Mike Guessford sent the following email to Dr. Sovine, Superintendent of Washington County Schools and the other six members of the Washington County Board of Education, with the subject line: "Ending DEI":
“Dr.Sovin,
I’m encouraging you to drop any DEI programming starting As of Monday morning. I have had seen no evidence in my opinion that would support the continuing this position that is held by Allison. I further more feel her being placed into a vacant teaching position would better serve our students and our budget. So I will support discontinuing this DEI position immediately.”
Minutes later, at 10:35 a.m. in response to Mr. Guessford’s email, Washington County Board of Education member Victoria Beachley forwarded Mr. Guessford’s email to Dr. Sovine and added the following message:
“Dr. Sovine,
Feel free to copy the rest of the board back on this, just don’t know with open meetings about responding with consensus on an email but I wanted to note I am in support of removing DEI positions. I’m a firm believer in treating all fairly and equally and DEI specifically labels people
and focuses on differences.”
Dr. Sovine then replied to the entire board letting them know that the board would need to hold a special closed session meeting to be in compliance with the Open Meetings Act.
While the focus of this post is to address DEI in our schools and the actions being proposed by the members of the Washington County Board of Education, it’s important to note that a board member emailed the superintendent with both a personnel recommendation and a proposed programming change, copying all board members. Had any of the recipients responded with agreement, a question, or a comment it would have constituted a violation of the Open Meetings Act.
As you can see, there are members of our school board who are actively seeking to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). For decades, these principles have been instrumental in fostering fairness, representation, and belonging in our schools and communities. Only
recently have they been unfairly politicized and portrayed as something to fear, despite their long-standing positive impact. In today’s diverse educational landscape, equity in our school system is not just a goal, it is a necessity. Equity means providing every student with the
resources, opportunities, and supports they need to succeed, rather than offering the exact same thing to everyone. While equality treats all students the same, equity recognizes that not all students start from the same place and that some may need more or different support to learn and to achieve.
Students come to school with a wide range of experiences, backgrounds, and needs. Factors such as language barriers, disabilities, economic hardship, trauma, or systemic bias can impact how a student engages in school and learns. Equity ensures that these realities are
acknowledged and not ignored. Equity shifts the focus from giving all students the same tools to giving all students the right tools for each of them.
When a school system focuses on equity, more students thrive. This includes students who may have been historically underserved or marginalized, such as students of color, multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and those from low-income families. Equity leads to higher academic achievement, stronger engagement, and a greater sense of belonging across all student groups.
Equity is not about lowering standards or giving unfair advantages. It’s about ensuring that every student has a real chance to succeed, no matter their background or challenges. By building equitable systems, we create learning environments that are fair, inclusive, and built for
the success of all students, not just a few. When equity is prioritized everyone benefits, students, families, schools, and society as a whole.
Examples of equity within a school system include differentiated instruction, individualized education plans (IEPs), 504 plans, language support for English learners, access to advanced coursework, and targeted funding for schools with greater needs.
Removing these supports from our schools would have a devastating impact on students, especially those who rely on them most. It’s important to understand that equity and are equality not the same. Treating every student exactly the same, without acknowledging their diverse needs and circumstances, doesn’t create fairness, it reinforces existing barriers. Ignoring those differences doesn't level the playing field; it sets students up to fall behind.