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This week, I read an article regarding teacher shortages in Texas. "A Texas school district will adopt a 4-day school week for students during the upcoming school year, citing teacher burnout and shortages in part during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. " I found it incredibly alarming and attention grabbing that children will be losing one day of school per week because of the teacher shortages due to the pandemic.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/04/12/texas-schools-4-day-week/7293201001/

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A Texas school district will adopt a 4-day school week for students during the upcoming school year, citing teacher burnout and shortages in part during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Jasper Independent School District, located in eastern Texas, confirmed last month that they will switch to the 4-day model during the 2022-2023 school year.

The district shared on Facebook that the calendar will satisfy the 75,600 minutes required for students during a school year in Texas. Teachers on Fridays will have professional development and other resources "without missing class time," the district said.

"Retaining and recruiting quality teachers is very important to all school districts during a nationwide teacher shortage and the board of trustees is working diligently for our JISD staff," the district shared on Facebook.

John Seybold, JISD superintendent, told "Good Morning America" that "teacher burnout has been an issue for a long time, but since COVID, it has seemed to expand, and it's becoming more and more of an issue."

"The four-day week kind of makes it a little more manageable for them because there's so much pressure placed on our teachers," he said.

"As a school district, ultimately the best thing we can do for kids is put the best possible teacher in front of them every day," he added.

USA TODAY has reached out to the district for additional information.
Politics: Education: The National Guard is driving kids to school in Massachusetts amid a bus driver shortage California pushing for 32-hour workweek at larger companies as part of pandemic-driven shift
The district on Facebook also said a survey of teachers in the school district found that 84% were "in favor of a 4-day week." Another survey emailed to parents and staff and on the district's social media pages found 64% supported a 4-day week.

According to an academic calendar on the district's site, the 4-day week would begin in October and continue through the end of April, with the school year starting with standard 5-day weeks in August.
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Seybold also confirmed that the school district is working with an area food bank to ensure that all students have food to cover the longer weekends.

School district across the country have faced a shortage of teachers, bus drivers and other school staff during the coronavirus pandemic. The National Education Association in February said there are 567,000 fewer educators in public schools than there were before the pandemic.

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Facing teacher shortages and burnout, Texas school district to adopt a 4-day week

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A Texas school district will adopt a 4-day school week for students during the upcoming school year, citing teacher burnout and shortages in part during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Jasper Independent School District, located in eastern Texas, confirmed last month that they will switch to the 4-day model during the 2022-2023 school year.

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Within this weeks encounter, I came across an article regarding teachers across the US going on strike because of staff shortages and low pay rates caused by COVID. "School districts across America are facing severe staffing shortages of teachers, substitute teachers and support staff amid Covid-19 disruptions and historically low pay, contributing to burnout and worsening working conditions." Teachers deserve higher pay and tremendous support during these times.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/25/teachers-strikes-us-low-pay-covid

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Thousands of teachers around the United States are resuming a strike wave in education that swept the country in 2018 and 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

School districts across America are facing severe staffing shortages of teachers, substitute teachers and support staff amid Covid-19 disruptions and historically low pay, contributing to burnout and worsening working conditions.

Over the past few weeks, teachers have gone on strike in Sacramento, California, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sonoma county, California, Riverdale, Illinois, and Proviso, Illinois, as teachers in other districts have authorized strikes. Earlier this year, teachers in Chicago, Illinois, were locked ou t by Chicago Public Schools over their demands for pausing in-person learning during a Covid surge.

About 200 teachers at Summit Charter Public Schools in California and Washington - a charter school network supported by funds from the philanthropic foundations of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and other wealthy Silicon Valley investors - have been fighting for a first union contract since unionizing in December 2019. The move came despite opposition from school administration, which included the firing of three union-supporting teachers.

Negotiations have been at an impasse since 2021, and now teachers are threatening to take steps toward a strike if a new contract isn't reached withthe administration, which includes the highest-paid school administrator in California, CEO Diane Tavenner, with a salary of more than $450,000 annually.

During the pandemic, teachers at Summit faced threats of pay freezes and layoffs.

"If we don't come to an agreement as soon as possible, our teachers are preparing for a strike," said Janine Peñafort, a Spanish teacher at Summit School Prep in Redwood, California, and president of Unite Summit Teachers, which represents teachers at the schools. "Ever since Summit expanded their schools, teachers have had less of a say in the decisions being made in our school. I think that sense of powerlessness and our demanding workload causes a lot of teachers to leave our schools every year."

The union has argued that despite millions of dollars in funding from wealthy billionaires, Summit Public Schools imposes austerity on teachers and schools, which has contributed to high turnover of teachers, lack of support for English language learning students, and an intense workload, which includes mentorships with individual students and more work days than other school districts.

Peñafort cited a recent retention survey conducted by the union that found about half of all teachers at Summit Public Schools did not plan to return next school year. Amid high turnover, Peñafort argued teachers were expected to serve as mentors for students throughout their four years of high school, but have no job security.

"What we're advocating for is a two-year probationary period to have that sense of security, especially since the past two years during the pandemic, teachers shifted to virtual learning within a day, showing the value and dedication we put into our jobs every single day," she added.

In Sacramento, California, more than 4,000 teachers and staff represented by Sacramento City Teachers Association and Service Employees International Union 1021, began a strike on 23 March over severe staffing shortages and Covid-related issues as new union contract negotiations with the city's school district have been at an impasse.

Workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize the strike earlier this month, with 95% voting in favor of striking with Sacramento City Teachers Association and 97% in favor of SEIU 1021. SCTA represents about 2,800 staff in the district, and SEIU 1021 represents an additional 1,800 school workers.

"It's just reached past a crisis point," said David Fisher, president of SCTA and a second-grade teacher for over 20 years. "The district has been saying for years, falsely, that they were in some sort of economic turmoil, even claiming they were on the precipice of state takeover. It turns out, it wasn't true then and it's even less true now."

Fisher argued as the school district has received millions in Covid-19 relief funds and state funds, severe staff shortages are leaving students and teachers without proper support. The district has about 10,000 students without a permanent teacher. An additional 600 students are on wait lists for independent study, with 14 teacher vacancies for the program. He also argued the district had continued laying off or was refusing to hire support staff such as teacher assistants.

"Instead of investing these dollars on the students, they are just amassing this giant rainy day fund, but it's pouring out," added Fisher. "Every student deserves at the very least a teacher in the classroom. What we've been experiencing and families have been experiencing is 10,000 students that come to school don't have a regular teacher, 3,000 or so don't even have a substitute so they get corralled into cafeterias or split up between classes."

Thousands of Chicago teachers, students and support staff march in October 2019 during the last big wave of school strikes. Photograph: Tannen Maury/EPA

Sacramento City Unified School District argued the strike hurts students and argued their current proposals reflect what the district can afford, with the next successor contract providing an opportunity for the unions and district to negotiate to improve staffing issues.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, over 4,000 teachers represented by Minnesota Federation of Teachers Local 59 have been on strike since 8 March over low pay, a lack of support staff and resources for students, and high turnover. More than 640 teachers and support staff have left the district in the past 18 months.

"We're fighting for safe and stable schools, and what that looks like is systemic changes to the way that education is run in Minneapolis," said Kearney Burns, a special education teacher at Hiawatha community school in Minneapolis. "What is being done in Minneapolis is trying to run our school systems like a business. There's a lot of top-down decision making and not a lot of input from actual stakeholders."

Burns emphasized the need for support staff positions to be fully staffed and for these workers to be properly compensated with a living wage, such as educational support professionals who currently make as little as $24,000 a year.

She noted teachers had received immense community support through the strike, as these improvements that teachers are fighting for will benefit students and the community.

"People know that safe and stable schools create safe and stable communities, and those safe and stable communities create safe and stable cities," Burns added. "We all want to be back in classrooms teaching our students, but we don't want it to be the same as it was before."

Early on Friday the union announced a tentative agreement had been reached, following a similar tentative agreement in neighbouring St Paul announced the night before.

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New wave of teachers' strikes rolls across US

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Thousands of teachers around the United States are resuming a strike wave in education that swept the country in 2018 and 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. School districts across America are facing severe staffing shortages of teachers, substitute teachers and support staff amid Covid-19 disruptions and historically low pay, contributing to burnout and worsening working conditions.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdOfXXfdK-k

Teachers in Oklahoma not getting payed enough, many having to pick up part time jobs. Teacher income in Oklahoma simply is not high enough. Teachers are going on strike to fight for higher and deserved pay.

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Oklahoma teachers set to strike despite pay raise

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In Class Video Notes
Positive perceptions of unions:
Increase in enrollment in schools

Negative perceptions of unions:
Worried about competition rather than students
Funding not being provided
Budget freeze

Public schools not reopening led students to enroll in private and charter schools where their education would continue.

After analyzing all of the sources in and out of class, I am still left wondering if unions are more beneficial or harmful to teachers.

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This week, I encountered an article about a school board in Los Angeles that is calling for a study that aims at increasing hiring and retention of Black educators. The article states "The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution last week to study the district’s hiring and retention of Black educators aimed at improving staff diversity as concerns grow over a coming wave of possible teacher retirements". I feel as though this is a great step in the field of education, because we have read many articles in class about the issue of not having enough diversity in educators, and how having diverse educators is incredibly beneficial for students of color. https://laschoolreport.com/l-a-school-board-calls-for-study-aimed-at-increasing-hiring-and-retention-of-black-educators/

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Sign up here for LA School Report's newsletter.
This article is part of a collaboration between The 74 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution last week to study the district's hiring and retention of Black educators aimed at improving staff diversity as concerns grow over a coming wave of possible teacher retirements.

Current LAUSD data shows far fewer Black teachers in classrooms compared to other ethnic groups. In addition some local districts have few Black educators compared to others. Additionally, a possible round of retirements of LAUSD teachers could mean an exodus of Black teachers at a time when few Black men and women are in the pipeline to replace them.

Board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin, who sponsored the Black Educator Preparation and Retention Resolution , said the goal was to understand "the data more deeply and broadly."

"There is very likely a huge number of students and L.A. staff members who will never meet a Black educator, " said Ortiz Franklin, "and that's a real problem."

The resolution directs newly-appointed superintendent Alberto Carvalho to create a plan that, in part, diversifies "the number of Black senior/executive leaders, Black administrators, Black leaders in Student Mental Health, and Black teachers in the District."

Research shows exposure to even one Black teacher can have a direct on academic performance and outcomes of Black students.

"We know that at least one Black educator in the elementary school years increases your high school graduation rate and college attendance rate" for Black students, said Speak Up Parents educational advocate Lisa Ross.

Currently, the resolution pointed out, "only 28.2 percent of Black students who graduated from District high school in 2019-2020 are eligible for (California state colleges and universities) compared to 37.7 percent of all students, according to the District Equity Scorecard."

In the current school year, Black teachers represent 8.3% of the LAUSD workforce, compared to 30.6% White and 46% Latino teachers, according to the district's , Black students make up for 7% of the district's enrollment .

Though the proportion of Black teachers to Black students is nearly even, researchers pointed to a troubling trend: With 40% of LAUSD's teachers over the age of 50 and many Black female teachers nearing retirement, there are few younger Black women and men applying for the jobs.

"What we've learned is that a large percentage of black educators are nearing retirement," said CEO of Diversity in Leadership Laura McGowan-Robinson. "But fewer numbers of Black educators are coming into the district."

Current show with the total number of Black LAUSD teachers at 2,063, they lag far behind other ethnic groups, such as Hispanic teachers (10,4610), White teachers (7,358), and Asian teachers (2,147).

In addition, an uneven concentration of Black teachers shows many students have far less access to them. In the West local district for example there are 694 Black teachers, compared to East local district where there are 106.

See full chart here. (LAUSD)

During the board meeting, parents and advocates spoke expressing their support for the resolution and shared personal experiences about how diverse representation in schools has had a meaningful impact on their children's academic success.

"I still clearly remember my first Black educator," said parent advocate Yasmin Imani, speaking at the board meeting. "Her name was Ms. Alexander and I had her in the fourth grade. I felt so supported and cared for."
Veronica Sierra is a sophomore pursuing a journalism degree at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela; and moved to California in 2015 where she continued high school, graduating in 2020.

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L.A. school board calls for study aimed at increasing hiring and retention of Black educators | LA School Report

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Sign up here for LA School Report's newsletter. This article is part of a collaboration between The 74 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution last week to study the district's hiring and retention of Black educators aimed at improving staff...

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This week I encountered a video about states over recent years putting restrictions on what is allowed to be taught in schools about racism. This video also focuses on Black History Month, and how in the state of Alabama there are complaints from parents on how children being taught about how this celebration is effecting their learning. Racism is something that should be taught in schools, and there is no reason for any uncomfortable feelings to occur as racism in society is reality and needs to be faced. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/black-history-month-how-new-rules-are-limiting-diversity-education-in-schools

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With Black History Month underway, there are questions about how new restrictions on diversity education in some states may play out.

According to an analysis by Education Week; since last year, 37 states have introduced or passed legislation that puts constraints on what can be taught about racism, sexism and inequality

Nadra Nittle, education reporter for The 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy, joined me to discuss the growing controversy.

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Black History Month: How new rules are limiting diversity education in schools

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Black History Month has put the spotlight on diversity education - and the impact of the ban on teaching critical race theory in some states. According to an analysis by Education Week, 37 states are considering limits to the teaching of sexism, racism and inequality. Nadra Nittle, education reporter for The 19th, joins.

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A encounter I had this week was from Michigan State University's MSU Today page. I read about the multicultural center that is being designed to implement importance of the individual and create a sense of belonging for students. "After a competitive search, Michigan State University selects SmithGroup, one of the nation’s leading integrated design firms, to design a $34 million, 40,000-square-foot campus multicultural center. MSU is leveraging the firm’s experience in higher education and cultural facility design to create a space of belonging and importance on campus." I think that this addition to MSU's campus is a great step in the advancement of diversity and equity within our Spartan community.
https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2022/msu-selects-multicultural-center-design-firm

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After a competitive search, Michigan State University selects SmithGroup, one of the nation's leading integrated design firms, to design a $34 million, 40,000-square-foot campus multicultural center. MSU is leveraging the firm's experience in higher education and cultural facility design to create a space of belonging and importance on campus.

An award-winning, international integrated design firm, SmithGroup has an extensive higher education portfolio, including the Student Success Center renovation at California State University-Long Beach, the Student Wellness Center at the University of Colorado-Denver and the Opportunity Hub at the University of Michigan. The firm's portfolio also features numerous cultural and museum projects, including the National Slavery Museum at the Lumpkin's Slave Jail Site in Richmond, Virginia, and most notably, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of the American Indian, both in Washington, DC.

"SmithGroup demonstrated the expertise and willingness to intentionally engage our students at every stage of the design process," said Senior Vice President for Student Life and Engagement Vennie Gore.

The decision comes after Hamilton Anderson Associates and Moody Nolan completed MSU's Multicultural Center Feasibility Report in March 2021. MSU's Board of Trustees last September approved entering the planning phase. Following an extensive search with input from committee members, Infrastructure Planning and Facilities project manager Brian Mullen notified SmithGroup of its selection on Jan. 10.

SmithGroup's team will blend higher education design expertise from the firm's Detroit office, led by Principal-in-Charge Tricia Beck and Project Manager Jennifer Durham, with cultural design expertise from the firm's Washington, D.C., office, led by Design Principal Monteil Crawley and Project Designer Julian Arrington.

"We are honored to be selected to design this historically significant space with the MSU community for future generations of Spartans," said Beck. "Our dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion is indicated in our team, our practices and our dedication to working with local and minority-owned partners."

SmithGroup has identified partner companies for the project, including SDG Associates LLC, Michigan's oldest African American-owned firm; InkSpot Design and Cerami Associates, both women-owned businesses; Onyx Enterprise, a Michigan African American woman-owned firm and small business; and KAS Estimating Services, also a small business.

The purpose of the multicultural center is to create a place that will embolden students to examine the intersections of identity and unity, think critically about diversity and social justice and utilize their unique and collective voices to enact positive change. MSU believes that such a facility will provide cultural education opportunities for all and increase student retention and success.

Photos courtesy of SmithGroup; interior image features the Auburn University Brown-Kopel Student Achievement Center, and the exterior image features the California State University-Long Beach Student Success Center renovation project.

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MSU selects multicultural center design firm

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After a competitive search, Michigan State University selects SmithGroup, one of the nation's leading integrated design firms, to design a $34 million, 40,000-square-foot campus multicultural center. MSU is leveraging the firm's experience in higher education and cultural facility design to create a space of belonging and importance on campus.

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An encounter I had this week was within an article that discussed the heightened focus of diversity within the workplace within different organizations. DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion. This article states that "In the last decade, organizations of varied industries and sizes have heightened their focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and, since 2020, DEI has become a top priority. COVID-19 pandemic realities, racial and social justice movements, changes in federal, state, or local laws, and generational shifts have increasingly brought DEI to the forefront. Now, more than ever, employees and customers are looking for thoughtful and impactful corporate response. Strong DEI performance is not only a business imperative. DEI is an organizational, leadership, and, increasingly, a legal and compliance imperative." This is an advancement of social justice and equity, as the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion are being recognized and highlighted. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/workplace-diversity-equity-inclusion-3417523/

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In the last decade, organizations of varied industries and sizes have heightened their focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and, since 2020, DEI has become a top priority. COVID-19 pandemic realities, racial and social justice movements, changes in federal, state, or local laws, and generational shifts have increasingly brought DEI to the forefront.

Now, more than ever, employees and customers are looking for thoughtful and impactful corporate response. Strong DEI performance is not only a business imperative. DEI is an organizational, leadership, and, increasingly, a legal and compliance imperative.

Many factors have created new risks that could devastate corporate reputations and severely damage brands. Examples include U.S. demographic changes resulting in significantly more diverse workforces, government agencies intensifying antidiscrimination enforcement efforts, and 24-hour global communications. While organizations are investing significant time and resources in enhancing their DEI initiatives, and some are developing comprehensive DEI strategic plans, often overlooked are the data privacy and security considerations involved.

What Personal Data is Collected under the "DEI" Umbrella?

An effective organizational DEI strategy relies on policies and practices that support DEI in all facets of employment, from recruiting and hiring, to onboarding and training, to development and promotion, and, ultimately, to the c-suite and the boardroom. During all phases, a comprehensive DEI strategy contemplates significant collection, use, transfer, and storage of personal information of employees and applicants. This includes data on ethnicity, race, and gender identity, as well as data about sexual orientation, disability, and veteran status, among other key identifiers.

For example, an organization might undergo a diversity assessment. Such an assessment might include, among other things, a legal vulnerability assessments or "diagnostic" assessment that examine internal complaint processes, employment discrimination/retaliation/harassment/hostile work environment claims, human resource policies and practices and workforce demographic trends.

While a complete discussion of such assessments is beyond the scope of this article, it is important to consider what types of DEI personal data will be collected and from where. Examples of this information may include information related to an employee or applicant's race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, and disability, among other personal information.

Antidiscrimination Law - DEI Data Collection Requirements

In addition to DEI data that an organization collects for business objectives, U.S. legislation and guidance requires or recommends the collection of certain types of DEI data. Here are just a few examples.

Employers with 100 or more employees are required to submit an EEO-1 data report to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by March 31st of each year, collecting data on race and gender, to help the EEOC identify potential discriminatory employment practices. (The EEOC did not collect employer EEO-1 data in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

While not required by law, the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP) recommend gender and race data collection of applicants to ensure non-discriminatory hiring practices. The UGESP are considered by federal courts when assessing a discriminatory hiring claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued AB 2021-01 in March 2021, announcing standards for regulated entities (including federal home loan banks) on data collection relating to the diversity of boards of directors.

Beginning March 2021, California's SB 973 required covered employers (generally, those with more than 100 employees) to report data relating to employees during a single pay period from the previous calendar year. In addition to annual earnings and hours worked for these employees, reporting must include race, ethnicity, and sex across specified job categories.

Similar obligations and recommendations exist in other parts of the globe. In the European Union (EU), while there is no direct legal duty for diversity reporting, the uniformly worded Article 11(1) of the Racial Equality Directive and Article 13(1) of the Employment Equality Directive put workplace monitoring to foster "equal treatment" first in their list of "exemplary measures," the adoption of which should be considered by employers. They state as follows:

Member States shall, in accordance with national traditions and practice, take adequate measures to promote the social dialogue between the two sides of industry with a view to fostering equal treatment, including through the monitoring of workplace practices, collective agreements, codes of conduct, research or exchange of experiences and good practices.

In addition, in many EU Member States, a special duty has been imposed on employers to collect data on the number of employees with disabilities for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with legally imposed quotas.

Privacy & Security Implications of DEI-Related Data
Privacy (and Data Transfer) Considerations
Privacy. While collection, use, transfer, and storage of personal employee and applicant data are key components of an effective DEI strategy and can be required by national antidiscrimination laws, there are privacy restrictions to consider.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) took effect January 1, 2020, imposing a broad range of requirements regarding collection and processing of personal information of California residents. While employee personal information is exempt from most of the CCPA's protections, one relevant area of privacy compliance remains: providing a notice at collection. Covered businesses are required to inform applicants and employees as to the categories of personal information they collect and the purposes for which it will be used. The CCPA was substantially amended in November 2020, when California voters passed California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including with respect to the notice-at-collection requirement for employees, job applicants, and independent contractors. The changes become effective January 1, 2023.

First, in addition to the information above, the notice at collection must include information on the retention periods for personal information.

Second, the CPRA expands the existing antidiscrimination rights of consumers to employees, applicants, and independent contractors. Section 1798.125 (a)(1)(E) states:

A business shall not discriminate against a consumer because the consumer exercised any of the consumer's rights ... including ... retaliating against employee, application for employment, or independent contractor ....

In light of the expansion of this provision, employers now cannot discriminate or retaliate against employees, applicants, and independent contractors exercising their rights to: (i) receive a notice at collection concerning their personal information, and (ii) file a private right to action following a data breach involving their personal information caused by the failure of the employer to maintain reasonable safeguards.

The CPRA also added special protections for DEI data. The definition of personal information has been amended to add "sensitive personal information." This new category includes a "consumer's racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or union membership" and "a consumer's sex life or sexual orientation" when used to uniquely identify the consumer. Consumers have the right under these changes to limit the use and disclosure of these and other categories of sensitive personal information.

For organizations operating outside the United States, the privacy implications of a DEI program will be considerably greater. Managing the interplay between federal, state, and local laws, together with laws outside the United States, may require tailoring the DEI program by jurisdiction.

Under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), for example, processing ( e.g., collection, storage, and use) personal data is bound by certain requirements and restrictions. The GDPR makes a clear distinction between the processing of personal data and sensitive personal data. Under the GDPR "special categories of data," sensitive personal data is subject to heightened protections and, generally, much of the data collected in a DEI program qualifies as sensitive personal data.

Art. 9 of the GDPR:

Processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.

The following exemptions under GDPR may be applicable for processing of DEI-related data:

Art. 9(2)(a) - The explicit consent of the data subject (i.e., employee or applicant).

Art. 9(2)(b) - Processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment.

While consent is considered a legal basis for processing sensitive personal data under the GDPR, EU Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) have stressed that the use of employee consent requires careful evaluation. The GDPR provides that consent must be "freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous." Moreover, the GDPR adds, consent is not "freely given" where a "clear imbalance of power" between the data controller ( i.e., employer) and the data subject ( i.e., employee) exists. DPAs have questioned the employee's ability to give valid consent because of their dependence on the employer. The inherent imbalance in the employment relationship calls "voluntary" consent into question.

An advisory board comprised of a representative from the DPAs of each EU member state, the European Data Supervisor, and the European Commission, called the Article 29 Working Party, has provided some guidance: "Employees can only give free consent in exceptional circumstances, when it will have no adverse consequences at all whether or not they give consent" and employees must have the right to withdraw consent at any time.

In addition, Article 7 of the GDPR warns against "bundling" consent with standard contract terms. The Working Party advises that Article 7 seeks to ensure the purpose of personal data processing is not disguised or bundled with the provision of a contract of a service for which these personal data are not necessary. Therefore, if an organization is using consent as a legal basis for processing personal data, consent provisions should be in a document separate from the general employee agreement to ensure consent is not associated with the employee's acceptance of employment.

Further, nation states within the EU are permitted to impose additional conditions and limitations on the processing of sensitive data. For example, in Germany, LGBTQ+ data is subject to additional obligations within the employment context, and certain types of sensitive data can be processed only if done so anonymously.

In 2016, the European Commission released a revised edition of the European Handbook on Equality and Data to promote equality and contribute to fight discrimination in the EU by analyzing why and what kind of data should be collected in relation to equality and discrimination. Although the Handbook was published before the GDPR took effect, it discusses and takes into consideration GDPR data protection requirements. The Handbook acknowledges the complex interplay between antidiscrimination and data protection legislation, and the challenges in implementing a compliant DEI program as a result. The Handbook states:

The collection, processing and use of equality data is generally regulated by a combination of antidiscrimination and data protection legislation. As a consequence, there is no coherent approach in relation to the definitions, classification and categorisation of data.

Moreover, the lack of uniform definitions and categories across the EU Member States creates inconsistencies. This is most evident with regard to the grounds of disability and racial/ethnic origin, where the approaches adopted are the most diverse.

Despite the complexities, the Handbook advises that, in the employment context, "diversity monitoring" is not "inherently problematic or challenging" and provides two options and guidance taking into consideration the GDPR, for legal and ethical diversity data collection: (1) collection of personal data associated with identifiable individuals or (2) anonymous workforce surveys.

If collecting personal data of identifiable individuals, the Handbook emphasizes that disclosure of such information must be voluntary and provides several best practices:

Employers should explain clearly the purpose of monitoring (promotion of equal treatment);

Employers should be able to guarantee the confidentiality of the data;

Employers should act upon their findings;

The monitoring form should be carefully designed;

It should be concise so as not to pose a disproportionate burden;

The questions should be formulated in clear language; and

The form should be tested before use.

The Handbook notes that, unsurprisingly, collection of anonymous data has resulted in significantly higher response rates among the equality groups, especially among individuals with disabilities and LGBT+ individuals. Moreover, the Handbook recommends that anonymous data be processed where feasible to reduce the likelihood of misuse and improve voluntary participation. Nonetheless, the collection of anonymous data does not always serve the purpose of the DEI initiative, thus compelling the collection of identifiable individual data.

Data Transfer. In addition to privacy requirements for data processing, employers needing to transfer DEI personal data from European Economic Area (EEA) to the United States (or other countries the European Commission has determined do not have appropriate data protection safeguards) will need to consider how to do so through an adequate transfer mechanism.

Examples of data transfers within a DEI program include accessing a global DEI database from the United States or sending employee data from the EEA to U.S. headquarters. Until recently, many organizations relied on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield program. However, in July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) declared the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield invalid in Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook Ireland and Schrems (C-311/18) ( Schrems II).

Alternative methods of transfer include mechanisms such as binding corporate rules (BCRs) for intragroup transfers or standard contractual clauses (SCCs) for intracompany transfers, as well as transfers to third parties. SCCs are clauses approved by the EU as providing reasonable safeguards to data transferred from the EEA. The CJEU did not invalidate either of these transfer mechanisms in Schrems II, but it placed SCCs under heightened scrutiny. The CJEU emphasized the data exporter's obligation to verify the data importer's ability to provide EEA data an adequate level of protection. The data exporter must review each transfer to determine on a case-by-case basis whether the SCCs provide sufficient reasonable safeguards, particularly in light of the recipient country's surveillance laws. As a result, data exporters must review applicable local legislation for each transfer to identify when SCCs are adequate, whether supplemental protective measures are required, or whether the transfer cannot occur. A comparable analysis will apply to BCRs. On June 4, 2021, the EU Commission adopted long-awaited updated SCCs (replacing 2001, 2003, and 2010). The updated SCCs address more complex processing activities, the requirements of the GDPR, and the Schrems II decision. These clauses are modular so they can be tailored to the type of transfer.

Businesses seeking to find an alternative to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, BCRs, or SCCs should review whether a transfer may fall under one of several exceptions to the GDPR's requirement of an adequate transfer mechanism. Many of these exceptions, however, apply only when the transfer is necessary, occasional, and affects a limited number of data subjects.

Under the GDPR, impermissible processing or transfer can result in assessment of fines up to €20 million or, in the case of an undertaking, up to four percent of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher. In addition, EU data subjects may bring a private cause of action against the data exporter for an illegal transfer, either individually or as part of a class action.
Security Considerations
With data security incidents ( e.g., mass data breaches and phishing scams of employee personal) on the rise in recent years, implementing reasonable security safeguards has never been more important. In response to such incidents, data security legislation continues to expand in the United States and abroad. However, in the United States, the laws requiring data security measures to protect personal information and notification in case of a breach typically extend to a narrow set of personal information that typically does not include traditional DEI data. Nonetheless, because of compelling privacy concerns relating to such data, along with the more expansive view of privacy and security in the EU and other jurisdictions, extending data security measures to include DEI data is prudent and may be mandatory.

The CCPA (discussed above in the privacy context) permits employees to commence a private right of action if affected by a data breach involving personal information caused by a failure of the employer to maintain reasonable safeguards. Effective in 2020, New York's Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD Act) requires any business that owns or licenses the private information of New York residents to develop, implement, and maintain reasonable safeguards to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the private information. These provisions do not apply to DEI data.

Still, there is good reasons to include DEI under the umbrella of an organization's written information security program. Employees may be more likely to participate if they believe the company takes the security of their personal information seriously. A breach of such data could create unintended consequences, especially for organizations still developing their DEI programs.

Many organizations rely on consultants and other service providers to assist them with DEI program development, reporting, and consulting. Therefore, these services providers may store significant amounts of employee personal information, including DEI data. In this case, organizations should also assess the practices of those service providers and obtaining their written assurances to safeguard that data. For example, even if HR outsources certain processes involving DEI data to third-party vendors, it should ensure those vendors have reasonable safeguards in place.

For organizations that operate outside the United States, there are additional security obligations for protection of personal data to consider. Under the GDPR, for example, an organization that processes personal data "shall implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk."

While this rapidly developing area of the law presents compliance challenges, legislation generally does not mandate specific safeguards. Rather, legislation provides examples of practices that are considered reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards based on the size and scope of the business. For example, practices considered reasonable administrative safeguards include risk assessments, employee training, selecting vendors capable of maintaining appropriate safeguards and implementing contractual obligations for those vendors, and disposal of private information within a reasonable time.

In the development of a DEI strategy, it is important for an organization to take stock of the DEI-related personal data being processed and where it is located and ensure there are reasonable safeguards in place to protect that data.

Key Issues

The balance between antidiscrimination laws and data privacy and security laws, and cultural considerations, is complex, requiring thoughtful planning.
Leadership & Goals:

Who are the key individuals involved in developing, implementing, and maintaining the DEI program?
Executives, HR departments, diversity leadership groups, legal, and IT are all potential stakeholders in a DEI program that may come with different agendas and priorities in mind. For example, an HR recruiting team may aim to capture as much data as possible, while the legal and IT teams may push for more limited collection. It will be important to define roles and responsibilities of those involved, early on.

What are the goals of the DEI program, initiative, or strategy?
The goals will significantly impact that type of data collected. Examples of common goals include increased productivity/creativity/decision-making, a larger job applicant pool, global impact, enhanced corporate reputation, ethical duty, prevention of legal liability, and development, inclusion, or retention of historically underrepresented populations.

What data is being collected?

Who will be responsible for collecting, using, transferring, storing and disposing of the data?

Who will have access to the data?

Is it mandatory or recommended by law/guidance to collect such data, as opposed to exclusively a business strategy?

What is the legal basis for data processing? If consent is needed, how is the consent process facilitated? Who is responsible for the handling the consent process? Do the disclosures or consents mention DEI-related purposes? What if an employee/applicant refuses to consent? Can consent be revoked later?

Will the type of data change over time? Has the organization already been collecting this data for other business purposes?

For global organizations, will the type of data collected vary by location?

Does the organization have a privacy policy related to employee and job applicant personal data already in place? If so, how should it address DEI uses?

Best Practices

The development and implementation of a DEI program will vary greatly depending on the size, location, and goals of the organization. However, best practices for handling DEI data can be applied fairly universally.

Culture and location. The cultural expectations and legal obligations regarding DEI data processing will vary significantly by location. In addition to antidiscrimination and data privacy and security laws, there may be other labor laws or social security laws that require or limit DEI data processing to consider. In addition to legal counsel, the DEI leadership team should maintain a keen awareness of relevant legislation and a general sense of where the law and culture is headed. Further, any DEI leadership team should always consider whether the audience (e.g., employees and customers) are primed to provide their data. A key consideration for any DEI-related data effort is determining whether there has been sufficient training, dialogue, or communication around what data is being sought and why it is being sought - to promote trust and respect throughout the process and maximize participation.

Less is more. As with most forms of data collection within an organization, less often is more. Some organizations pride themselves on their comprehensive recordkeeping systems, for example, claiming to have retained all records since inception. Such practices may not be necessary and, in many cases, are not prudent. Retaining massive amounts of data may be needed in certain contexts, but it should be carried out strategically and deliberately, with a plan to shed the data once its usefulness has ceased.

Notice and consent. As a starting point (to help ensure employee support for the DEI program and prevent legal liability), employees and job applicants should be provided clear notice of the categories of data collected and how the organization will use that data. If consent is the legal basis for collecting data, employees and applicants should be aware of this right, as well the process for how to consent and how to revoke consent if they choose. To ensure consent is not associated with the employee's acceptance of employment, consent provisions should not be bundled with an employee handbook or general employment agreement.

Written policies. Development and implementation of the DEI program should be in writing, and relevant personnel should be trained in its execution. Regarding data privacy and security, there should be a Written Information Security Program, including a risk assessment, in place for how all personal data is being handled within the organization, including DEI-related data. It is not enough to say, "We are doing that." From a compliance perspective, data privacy and security policies and procedures need to be in writing. Additionally, written policies and procedures help to maintain consistency in the organization's practices and better support discipline for violations of the rules.

Be reasonable. Importantly, the steps taken should be reasonable. Indeed, most regulatory data privacy and security frameworks require "reasonable" safeguards. Of course, this is not easy to define, but reasonableness should be a fundamental principle guiding your program.

Takeaway

An effective DEI program protects the organization's reputation and expands business opportunities by strengthening relationships with stockholders, customers, employees, regulators, and the general public. In the tumultuous times of 2020s, DEI initiatives have never been more important for organizational wellbeing. The interplay between privacy and antidiscrimination laws requires a comprehensive understanding of the issues and finding the right balance for the organization.

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Workplace Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: Data Privacy and Security Issues | JD Supra

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In the last decade, organizations of varied industries and sizes have heightened their focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and, since 2020, DEI has become a top priority. COVID-19 pandemic realities, racial and social justice movements, changes in federal, state, or local laws, and generational shifts have increasingly brought DEI to the forefront.

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An encounter I had this week was within an article about the importance of critical race theory being taught within classrooms. The article states "It is crucial for young people to learn about equity and social justice so they can thrive in our increasingly global, multilingual and multicultural society. When students become aware of the structural origins of inequality, they better understand the foundations of American society. They are also better equipped to comprehend, interpret and integrate into their worldviews the science they learn in their classrooms and experience in their lives." I could not agree more with this perspective, as it is crucial for students to learn about real world issues and events to better prepare them for what society is like for when they get older. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/teaching-about-racism-is-essential-for-education/

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Elected officials who campaigned against critical race theory (CRT), the study of how social structures perpetuate racial inequality and injustice, are being sworn into office all over the U.S. These candidates captured voters' attention by vilifying CRT, which has become a catch-all to describe any teaching about racial injustice. Lessons about the genocide of Native Americans, slavery, segregation and systemic racism would harm children, these candidates argued. Calling its inclusion divisive, some states have enacted legislation banning CRT from school curricula altogether.

This regressive agenda threatens children's education by propagating a falsified view of reality in which American history and culture are outcomes of white virtue. It is part of a larger program of avoiding any truths that make some people uncomfortable, which sometimes allows in active disinformation, such as creationism. Children are especially susceptible to misinformation, as Melinda Wenner Moyer writes in "Schooled in Lies."

It is crucial for young people to learn about equity and social justice so they can thrive in our increasingly global, multilingual and multicultural society. When students become aware of the structural origins of inequality, they better understand the foundations of American society. They are also better equipped to comprehend, interpret and integrate into their worldviews the science they learn in their classrooms and experience in their lives.

Pondering racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities helps students understand, for example, why COVID death rates among Black, Latino and Native American people were much higher than those of white people as the pandemic began. They can better comprehend why people of color are far more likely to be subjected to the ravages of pollution and climate change or how a legacy of U.S. science that experimented on Black and Indigenous Americans may have led to distrust of doctors and health care.

Removing conversations around race and society removes truth and reality from education. This political interference is nothing new-political and cultural ideologues have fought for years to remove subjects such as evolution, Earth history and sex education from classrooms and textbooks, despite the evidence that sex ed helps to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, that evolution explains all life on Earth and that the world is older than a few thousand years.

Many of the school districts that brought in anti-CRT board members are the same ones that refuse to mandate masks, despite the evidence that masks can prevent the spread of COVID. These school officials also rail against vaccine mandates as a violation of personal choice. It is the same prioritization of individuals over community and a discomfort with hard truths that characterize the movement against the teaching of true history.

Fortunately, efforts to limit children's education face stark opposition. The American Civil Liberties Union describes initiatives to quash discussions of racism in classrooms as "anathema to free speech." And the U.S. Department of Education is debating a series of American History and Civics standards that include introducing "racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse perspectives into teaching and learning." Caught in the middle are teachers who are trying to educate children during a pandemic.

While many parents of school-aged children supported anti-CRT campaigns, voters with no connection to the classroom helped significantly to tip these elections. Parents and educators must bring the conversation back to teaching children about reality. EdAllies, a Minnesota-based educational-support nonprofit, is encouraging teachers to reach out to parents and administrators to explain the necessity of antiracist content in their lessons, as a way to build community support.

All over the U.S., school board meetings are being taken over by fear of the inclusion bogeyman. And after our recent elections, more board members have the power to act against lessons they dislike. Today, tomorrow and for as long as these elected officials are in office, it is the children and the teachers who will pay the price for an incomplete education. We must work toward a school experience that includes narratives of discrimination, social justice and inequality as truths we can learn from so that history might not repeat itself.

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Teaching about Racism Is Essential for Education

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Elected officials who campaigned against critical race theory (CRT), the study of how social structures perpetuate racial inequality and injustice, are being sworn into office all over the U.S. These candidates captured voters' attention by vilifying CRT, which has become a catch-all to describe any teaching about racial injustice.

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An encounter I had this week was from the Michigan State University College of Education website. It was posted on the 'news' page on March 4th, 2021. This article talks about the issue of Black students being expelled and suspended at much higher rates than other students, and how the issue is worsening among elementary schools. A team within Michigan State University is working to change this issue by increasing the empathy of teachers and critical race consciousness. I find it really great how I am apart of a university that acknowledge these issues of social injustice, and works to create awareness of these problems. https://education.msu.edu/news/2021/racial-equity-in-school-discipline-starting-in-the-classroom/

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Black students are suspended or expelled from schools at disproportionately higher rates than other students, and data show the problem is progressively getting worse at the elementary level.

The issue, researchers argue, starts in the classroom where teachers make disciplinary referrals to the school office. A team at Michigan State University hopes it can help change this pattern by increasing teachers' empathy and critical race consciousness.

Dorinda Carter Andrews

"We know from research that teachers read students' behavior in culturally nuanced ways, based on their own assumptions and stereotypes about different racial groups," said Dorinda Carter Andrews, lead researcher on the new project, which is being funded by a three-year, nearly $600,000 grant from the William T. Grant Foundation.

"There are large numbers of Black students in urban schools; however, their teachers are often white. And they are more likely than teachers of color to over-refer Black students for what is deemed negative behavior."

With fellow experts on educational equity and social networks, Carter Andrews will explore whether a series of professional learning sessions for teachers can reduce the number of discipline referrals for youth in the earliest grades, kindergarten through second grade. They plan to involve 400 teachers and principals in 40 mostly urban schools across Michigan.

Half of the participating educators will engage in training during the first year, starting this summer, followed by the rest of the group in year two.

The 18-hour professional development program will be based in part on an approach previously used by the MSU Office of K-12 Outreach, led by co-principal investigator Bryan Beverly, that shows promise to eliminate or reduce disciplinary inequities.

Carter Andrews and Associate Professor Chezare Warren, another co-PI, will help enhance the program by adding components focused on building teacher empathy toward Black students and cultivating their critical race consciousness, which refers to a heightened awareness of the asymmetrical power relationships that exist between race groups based on racial hierarchy rooted in white dominance.

The research team says the need has only intensified in the past year, amidst more violence against Black individuals at the hands of police. In addition, the effects of the global pandemic have been especially tragic in urban and Black communities.

"This will push classroom and school leaders to take a closer look at themselves first, in order to better see their students," said Beverly. "If they can see their Black and Brown students through a different lens, they are less likely to add a punitive measure based on their behavior, which can damage important relationships being built."

The researchers will assess the impact of their intervention using discipline data from the schools, and pre- and post-surveys. They will look for differences based on factors such as the educators' race and gender. They also hope to conduct focus group interviews with some of the participating teachers and their students, as well as principals.

MSU Foundation Professor Ken Frank will bring his expertise on social network analysis to the project, asking teachers about their close colleagues and examining if they modify their disciplinary practices in response to what their peers are doing.

"Teachers do not make disciplinary decisions in isolation. Discipline is one of the most important issues to coordinate at the school level so that students are treated equitably," Frank said.

"If we find evidence that teachers do respond to the practices of their colleagues, it means that networks can be leveraged to implement new policies. But it also means that subgroups who influence one another could depart from school policy."

As chairperson of the MSU Department of Teacher Education, Carter Andrews said the project will expand upon efforts in her department to better prepare new teachers committed to racial justice by also providing tools to practicing teachers who serve children at the start of schooling.

"This is one of the clearest forms of anti-Black racism in schools," Carter Andrews said. "We need to intervene and eliminate it early on to ensure that Black students are not only able to graduate but to experience school in humanizing ways."

Outreach Specialist Nicole Ellefson is also on the project team.

Related news

Dorinda Carter Andrews was the first African American woman named to lead the Department of Teacher Education in 2019.

Bryan Beverly and Nicole Ellefson were leaders in providing a reopening guide for schools to help leaders prepare schools and communities for a range of realities while learning in a pandemic. (June 2020)

Kenneth Frank was part of a team to develop a clearer, more intuitive method of relaying scientific results. (June 2020)

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Racial equity in school discipline: Starting in the classroom

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Black students are suspended or expelled from schools at disproportionately higher rates than other students, and data show the problem is progressively getting worse at the elementary level. The issue, researchers argue, starts in the classroom where teachers make disciplinary referrals to the school office.