CCSD superintendent says the district will ‘follow the law’ on DEI

Clark County School District Superintendent Jhone Ebert said she will try to strike a balance between following the law and emphasizing inclusion amid increased policy pressure from the federal government.

“We will always follow the law, whatever that is,” Ebert said in a Thursday interview. “At the same time, balancing what our students need is important.”

On April 3, the Trump administration published a memo that threatened to withhold federal funding from public schools unless state education officials verified the elimination of all programs that it said unfairly promoted diversity, equity and inclusion.

In her first week on the job, Ebert said that she is “diving deep” into CCSD’s policies, which included meeting with the “DEI team” (CCSD’s department is called the Equity and Diversity Education Department). In her previous role as state superintendent, she provided guidance on policies. Ebert said that as CCSD’s superintendent, she will need to examine the policies from within.

“I need to look at the policies and see where we’re at,” Ebert said. “Making sure that we’re aligned with what the law is, and that we continue to support all of our children.”

But Ebert said it would take a few weeks before she had a clear answer on the path ahead.

“There are other pieces that I still need to investigate,” Ebert said.

Protecting vulnerable students

Ebert specifically cited a Monday visit to Wasden Elementary School, where she met students in the school district’s only elementary school classroom for visually impaired students.

“That is inclusion. We want our visually impaired students to be fully included in the learning environment,” Ebert said. “We will not have that go away.”

Another challenge for the school district is the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration enforcement, which includes permission for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enter schools.

“I understand that families may be nervous at this moment in time,” Ebert said Thursday. “What I want to double down on is that we need to have our children in schools. They need to be with their friends. They need to be in a learning environment with adults that can care about them and know that they can have success within the school building.”

About 7 percent of Nevada’s population has been estimated as undocumented.

In a January statement, CCSD said that if a law enforcement officer or government agent appears at a school, the staff should ask for identification and the reason for their visit.

If there is a concern with either one, a staff person should contact CCSD’s Police Department, which it said does not enforce federal civil immigration laws.

The school district said it is “not responsible for enforcing federal immigration law.”

“Children in Nevada are entitled to a free appropriate public education, irrespective of their immigration status,” CCSD said in the statement. The district also said it “does not check any student’s immigration status.”

Funding risks

Ebert also faces challenges when it comes to funding for the school district, both in Carson City and Washington D.C.

Ebert said last week that she expects CCSD to receive less money from the Nevada Legislature this session than in 2023.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, making the future of Nevada’s nearly $1 billion of federal funding for Title I, special education and federal student aid programs uncertain.

The department cannot legally be closed without Congress, but Trump’s order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs and benefits on which Americans rely.”

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford joined with other states in suing the Trump administration to stop the dismantling of the department.

Rebuilding trust

But outside of external pressure, one of the largest issues facing the school district comes from within.

“They don’t trust us,” Ebert said of the community’s attitude toward CCSD. “We need to earn the trust back.”

She said she will work to hold engagement sessions with parents and create partnerships with the business community to rebuild that trust.

“We really need to come together and lift up. We’re the fifth largest school district in the nation. It is not one person that is going to change our community. It is our community that’s going to change our community,” Ebert said.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.