1. United States
2. Wisc.
3. Letter

I am a mother of two school-age children, a teacher, and a proud member of my community in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I am opposed to the recent threat to states to withhold federal fund for programs like Title I if schools do not fully comply with recent DEI instructions. Title I was founded to support students in low-income or struggling areas, and it was not created with a stipulation of "only if you agree with the agenda of the current president". This is unethical and wrong. It also sets a dangerous precedent that every four years, schools will need to change programs, shift course, and do whatever the agenda is for the new administration. Schools are burdened with enough in their task of teaching children, so they do not need these added tasks. As someone who personally spent ten of the first years of my teaching as a Title I teacher, and who has spent the bulk of my 27 years of teaching working with at-risk populations, I can attest to the power of these funds. They are appropriately used across the nation to make sure kids learn to read, keep up with their math skills, and have the staff and materials needed to do so. Tearing away these funds or holding provisions of political correctness over their heads is a direct attack on our most vulnerable children and schools. This is a narrow political agenda that is being leveraged as a weapon against children and their opportunity to receive a good education, which is unacceptable. Speak up now against this measure and on behalf of the children in Wisconsin and across our nation.