Iowa City school officials expect to take a final vote at tomorrow night’s school board meeting on controversial diversity policy. The policy seeks to evenly distribute the number of low-income students among the district’s schools using free or reduced-price lunch information.
The state Department of Education warned Iowa City school officials last week that the policy may violate federal law if it comprises student identities. School board governance committee chair, Sarah Swisher, says that legal warning results from what she terms ”a shallow reading” of the proposed policy and the board’s attorney assures the district that it’s legal.
“I’m hopeful that it will pass. I think it’s a good policy. It uses aggregate numbers, not individual students’ free and reduced lunch rate,” Swisher says. Swisher says the policy is on tomorrow night’s school board meeting agenda.
The board is split 4-3 on the policy. If approved, it would be the first such diversity proposal of its kind in the state.