Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s Statement on the Atlanta Spa Killings

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 03/17/2021 01:17 PM PDT

_{You are receiving this email because you opted to receive information from OSPI about this topic. To manage your subscriptions, click here.}

_{Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.}

Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s Statement on the Atlanta Spa Killings

Below is Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s statement on Tuesday's shootings at Asian-owned spas in the Atlanta area that killed eight people, most of them of Asian descent.

OLYMPIA–March 17, 2021–Last night’s attack was senseless, terrifying, and, at its core, a hate crime. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our nation, including our state, has experienced a dramatic increase in crimes targeting Asian Americans. We also continue to see an increase in anti-Semitic as well as anti-immigrant violence and harassment.

These trends are disturbing and, while we want to believe they don’t reflect who we are, they will continue to happen until each of us unequivocally recognizes and denounces the racism and anti-Semitism that drives this violence.

Racism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Blackness are ingrained in our society – they are embedded within our institutions, our economy, and even in the way we most often talk about our history as a country and as a state. We don’t have to accept this! Education, at its best, is the process of transforming injustice to justice, darkness to light, and fear into hope.

Every person living in America should feel safe from discriminatory violence and harassment, and it takes each of us to rebuild our society in that way. At OSPI, we are committed to building our knowledge and leadership for anti-racist policy and implementation across all levels of our K–12 system.

For our schools, this looks like recruiting and retaining more diverse educators and school employees, utilizing social studies and English language arts curricula and materials that are culturally responsive and anti-racist, providing universal access to high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, and building systems that break down barriers and provide comprehensive supports based on individual student needs.

For OSPI, this looks like putting each and every student at the center of our work, making data-driven decisions, leveraging funding streams to make the highest impact where the need is greatest, applying an anti-racist lens to every policy, and doing everything we can to build inclusive school environments that eliminate opportunity gaps.

In our state, every young person has the right to learn, every employee has the right to work in, and every family member has the right to engage with our schools free from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin or home country, or other protected class status.

If a student, family member, or school employee in Washington is facing teasing, bullying, harassment, violence, or other discrimination based on their protected class status, they should reach out to their school district’s Civil Rights Coordinator.

For More Information

For students and families: Discriminatory Harassment and Students’ Rights
For students, families, and school staff: Complaints and Concerns About Discrimination
For school districts: Prohibiting Discrimination in Washington Public Schools
State law protecting public school students from discrimination (Chapter 28A.642 RCW)
State law protecting against discrimination (Chapter 49.60 RCW)

Anyone who believes a student is experiencing discrimination or discriminatory harassment based on their race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin or home country, or other protected class status may file a formal complaint with their school district or public charter school.

For more information about antidiscrimination protections for students, please contact OSPI’s Office of Equity and Civil Rights at equity@k12.wa.us or 360-725-6162.

ALL STUDENTS PREPARED FOR POST-SECONDARY PATHWAYS, CAREERS, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.

Led by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, OSPI oversees K-12 public education in Washington state. Our mission is to provide funding, resources, tools, data and technical assistance that enable educators to ensure students succeed in our public schools, are prepared to access post-secondary training and education, and are equipped to thrive in their careers and lives.

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES
Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com.

OSPI provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. Questions and complaints of alleged discrimination should be directed to the Equity and Civil Rights Director, P.O. Box 47200, Olympia, WA 98504-7200, 360-725-6162 (TTY: 360-664-3631), equity@k12.wa.us.

This Institution is an Equal Opportunity Provider.