In early November, CFER raised awareness on some important [developments](https://cferfoundation.org/posts/PUSD-2023-11-10) in the Poway Unified School District (PUSD), where its superintendent engaged in a series of bad conduct involving a sports team at Del Norte High, while its board trustees refused to hold the superintendent accountable. CFER President Frank Xu [joined](https://youtu.be/CMIO_MadqRU) the local community at a board [meeting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-YT7QsDuvI) to demand actions and voice outrage.

Sadly, **the PUSD leadership has continued to ignore the community’s call for integrity, transparency and accountability**. Not only has the school board failed to conduct a fair and thorough investigation into Superintendent Marian Phelps’s wrongdoings, the board has but also deliberately sought cover-ups for her misconduct. The case is so egregious that **the directly impacted student and her parent are now** [**taking**](https://redenriddell.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023.11.27-Complaint-FILED.pdf) **the whole leadership team to court** for violating the student’s constitutional rights to free speech, due process, a public education, and equal protection.

The events and facts disclosed in the legal filing expose a number of problems **inherent in the woke education agenda, which prioritizes ideology over learning, feelings over facts, and double standards over merit**.

 - Superintendent Phelps violated school board policy **prohibiting employee-student personal contact for non-educational purposes**, by harassing students for self-gain and intimidating witnesses in person and on social media. Subsequently, the school board’s glaring failure to supervise and discipline the superintendent who violated the policy means the board **cannot enforce their own rules**.
 - As a leader touted for her work in [anti-racism](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/pomerado-news/opinion/editorial/back-to-school/story/2023-02-22/back-to-school-the-ongoing-fight-against-racism-in-poway-unified), [equity](https://www.powayusd.com/apps/pages/superintendents-profile) and [restorative justice](https://www.youtube.com/live/6HCAUJ3S--Q?si=6DdQgwueyLYNoojZ), Superintendent Phelps **did not walk the talk by harshly retaliating against students and staff and threatening those involved with punitive measures.**
 - The PUSD Board **contravened a series of policy safeguards preventing harms to students and families**, which exacerbated the substantial emotional stress caused by Phelps towards the plaintiff and other relevant parties.
 - Phelps’s actions, including **abusing her powers** **and engaging in conflict of interest**, stood in sharp contrast to the ideological slogans she preaches. Laughably, her misconduct constituted **serious “microaggressions,”** which the superintendent vows to combat in PUSD.
 - The board’s intentional cover-up showcases these leaders’ desperation to **bend the rules and the law to defend the status quo and their power structure, at the expense of public trust.**

Alas, **these bureaucrats and ideologues cannot even obey the rules of their own making**! After all, **woke education rule-making is a shape-shifting and corrupt business** in which different standards apply to different people in different situations.

There is **no transparency**. For instance, in response to growing pressure from parents, staff and community members, the PUSD Board either openly lied about and exaggerated the number of public meetings done for the purpose of investigating the matter. Or, they just **blatantly violated the Brown Act** by not publicizing the three meetings they said they had to discuss the case. When public education leaders shift their focus **from academic excellence to ideological inculcation, from evidence-based rulemaking to slogan chanting, from getting the job done right to covering for each other, students, families and the entire community suffer**. It is no wonder that academic performances at PUSD, a top school district, have [deteriorated](https://caaspp.edsource.org/?_gl=1*g5ijhl*_ga*MTQ2MzE5NjIyMS4xNjYzMTc5MzQ4*_ga_475QR6J62K*MTY2Njg4NTA5NS42LjEuMTY2Njg4NTEyMy4zMi4wLjA.) in recent years and chronic absenteeism has [risen](https://www.caschooldashboard.org/reports/37682960000000/2022) to unprecedented levels.

We hope the student and parent plaintiff will prevail in their lawsuit. **Their courage to stand up and resolve to seek justice through the court system are what is needed to save public education from the woke agenda.** More importantly, we hope that the silver lining in this unfortunate case will come soon, so that the school district leadership can **return to fact-based policy making, and return to ensure high-quality learning**. School board members, elected by voters, should protect the students and act as gatekeepers for public education. Appointed school leaders should answer to the board and the community, uphold high professional standards and preserve excellence.

Going forward, CFER will work with more communities and parents throughout California to defend and improve public education through local organizing. If you believe in what we are doing in this regard, will you [support](https://cferfoundation.org/support) CFER today with a kind donation?

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Poway Unified Leaders Broke Their Own Rules- The Woke Agenda Destroys Public Education

Dear Poway Unified students, teachers, parents and community members,

We urge you to attend a [special board meeting](https://4.files.edl.io/5a62/11/14/23/014912-44b00c93-c2df-4bd8-a033-a4b7c0e4205e.pdf) on Wednesday, November 15th at the Poway Unified School District (PUSD) to demand the school board investigate Superintendent Marian Phelps and hold the school district leadership accountable.

Dr. Phelps has engaged in a number of egregious wrongdoings for personal gains, propagating untrue allegations of bullying, falsifying documents to trump up the bullying narrative, and retaliating against witnesses in opposition. Yet, the PUSD Board has refused to launch a transparent and thorough investigation into her bad conduct. The superintendent’s serious abuses of her powers, along with the school board’s irresponsible inaction, have not only harmed the students, families and staff directly involved in the incident, but have also led to erosions in public trust. The situation is so grave that concerned parents, students and PUSD employees finally rallied together and [spoke up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-YT7QsDuvI) at the November 9th school board meeting. CFER President Frank Xu also [joined](https://youtu.be/CMIO_MadqRU) the local community in voicing concerns and outrage.

It is time for all local PUSD stakeholders – students, teachers, parents, concerned citizens, to speak up and request the PUSD Board safeguard accountability and integrity in the school district leadership. The special board meeting will be held on **Wednesday, November 15th** at **10am** at the **PUSD Community Room (15250 Avenue of Science, San Diego, CA 92128)**. Local watchdog group [PUSD Community Watch](https://www.pusdcommunitywatch.org/) will be present at the meeting to advocate for those injured by Superintendent Phelps’ missteps.

Going forward, CFER will continue to work with the local community and the PUSD Community Watch to promote accountability and transparency in PUSD.

Thank you in advance!

**The Californians for Equal Rights Foundation**

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Action Alert in Poway Unified: Attend Wednesday's Special Meeting to Demand Accountability and Integrity in Leadership

Dear San Francisco Unified parents, community members and concerned citizens,

On Tuesday (November 14, 2023), the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Board of Education will hold its regular [meeting](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lNf-DRpM3dtKdbLVY_dJAH7vFXOgX09e1NTk17fusZA/edit) in which a [proposal](https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/sfusd-news/press-releases/2023-11-03-sfusd-superintendent-shares-recommendations-sf-public-high-schools) to change admissions requirements in Lowell High School and Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (RASOTA) will be discussed (Item # G1). Please attend the meeting and speak up to oppose this proposal, as it would replace rigorous test-based admissions with a system combining “a minimum GPA and student interest.”

Recommended by the SFUSD High School Task Force, this [proposal](https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/sfusd-news/press-releases/2023-09-29-sfusd-high-school-task-force-shares-recommendations-superintendent) is yet another example of the education bureaucracy’s shameless attacks on merit-based public education and the ominous war on tests. In the name of prioritizing “historically underserved students,” the recommended changes in admissions process would certainly hurt the academic rigor and education excellence at SFUSD’s selective high schools including Lowell. Doing away with admission tests, ostensibly for ideological purposes, also [ignores](https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2023/03/21/on-standardized-testing-the-elites-have-it-wrong/) a growing body of empirical research showing standardized testing as the most reliable predicator for student success.

On the other hand, focusing on a minimum GPA would make the admissions process less transparent and fair, due to [varying standards of grading](https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/liufall2013/files/2013/10/New_Perspectives.pdf) across schools and [widespread grade inflation](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775720305239). If anything, the admissions change proposal would accelerate SFUSD’s descent into mediocrity, considering that fewer than half of its students are [proficient](https://caaspp.edsource.org/?https://caaspp.edsource.org/&gclid=Cj0KCQiAr8eqBhD3ARIsAIe-buO8HSHrg7OWZaxsbphU-JD6rgS8eDH1k6_jC-N-Ej1DM3Pi1icJYrMaAmjAEALw_wcB) in math and only five in ten meet standards for English.

We urge you to attend the **November 14th SFUSD Board Meeting** at **6: 30 pm at 555 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102.** Please make a request to give a public comment regarding the proposal **(Item G1).** You can also [contact](https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/board-education) your board commissioners to voice your opposition and share your concerns.

Going forward, we encourage you to continue to get involved at the local school district, monitor new developments and speak up. The future of local education and our next generation needs to be vigorously safeguarded.

Thank you in advance!

**Californians for Equal Rights Foundation**

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Action Alert in San Francisco Unified School District: Defend Merit-Based Admissions and Education Excellence

On Thursday, November 9th, 2023, CFER President Frank Xu  [joined](https://youtu.be/CMIO_MadqRU)  parents, students and school staff of Del Norte High School at the Poway Unified School District (PUSD) board meeting to demand accountability and resolutions. Specifically, we urged the school board to hold its most senior administrator – PUSD Superintendent Marian Phelps- accountable for her wrongdoings.  
  
In June 2023, Phelps directly threatened many student athletes and coaches at Del Norte with disciplinary consequences and even prospects of graduation. Why? Because she faulted the students and staff for  **not clapping loudly enough for her daughter at a softball banquet**. This seemingly inconsequential incident kickstarted a series of questionable actions on Phelps’ part, including: targeting a high school senior perceived to be her daughter’s direct competition with untrue allegations of bullying, falsifying documents to trump up the bullying narrative, and retaliating against witnesses after the family of the senior student sent out a formal complaint. Phelps’ problematic conduct, for the sole purpose of personal benefits, has harmed many parties involved.  
  
Enough is enough! Phelps’ abuses of her powers and authority are so egregious that  **concerned parents, students and PUSD employees finally rallied together and** [**spoke up**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-YT7QsDuvI) **at the school board meeting yesterday**. Not only were they asking for a thorough investigation to hold Phelps accountable, the community was also questioning the board’s inaction. After being alerted to the incidents and provided with evidence, the board has decided to acquiesce to Superintendent Phelps’ actions and ignore the pleadings of concerned parents and students.  
  
CFER joined the local community group – PUSD Community Watch in  [voicing](https://youtu.be/CMIO_MadqRU)  concerns and outrage. An incompetent leader who has also engaged in serious wrongdoings should be held accountable. If the leader can no longer lead the school district with trust and credibility, the school board needs to take proactive actions to select a new leader.  
  
This latest development in PUSD is a snapshot of what has gone wrong with public education. Lack of integrity and accountability among school leaders and bureaucrats is often the result of  **a shift from theirs focusing on academic excellence to obsessing with ideological inculcation, from getting the job done right to covering for each other’s mistakes**. For years, Superintendent Phelps has promoted ideological initiatives such as  [anti-racism](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/pomerado-news/opinion/editorial/back-to-school/story/2023-02-22/back-to-school-the-ongoing-fight-against-racism-in-poway-unified), diversity, equity and inclusion ([DEI](https://www.powayusd.com/apps/pages/superintendents-profile)) and ethnic studies.  
  
Under these ideological spells,  _educrats_  uphold empty euphemisms as the ultimate truth and expect everyone under their command to conform. However, these dogmas mean different standards for different people, foster unfairness and also sabotage transparency. As a result, school cultures and decision-making processes change from being evidence-based and data-driven to being based on subjective feelings and virtual signaling. This cultural shift has led to deteriorations in academic performance and rising [chronic absenteeism](https://www.pusdcommunitywatch.org/district/finances). To make matters worse, in attempts to masquerade a systemic failure to serve the students and parents, many school boards have  **absconded from their sworn duties to protect students and families**, directly facilitating the indefensible, perpetuating a toxic school environment, and eroding public trust.  
  
In the case of PUSD, the students, families and staff had courage to speak up about the harms they have been subjected to due to the superintendent's missteps and the board's inaction. They are in need and deserving of help and assistance from us and the local watchdog group. We must participate in this movement to improve the culture and practices at the local school district level.  
  
**Only when local stakeholders get organized and get involved that public school leaders will be pressured to address the negative impact of a corrosive culture on students and the community.**  This is precisely why we need local watchdog groups like t[he PUSD Community Watch](https://www.pusdcommunitywatch.org/). In fact, we need one watchdog in every school district to  **stand up to bad leadership, monitor school policies, finances, programs and curriculums**. If you share this vision and want to start an organization in your community, please let me know by replying to this email. If you believe in CFER’s strategy and work to safeguard public education, will you make a kind  [donation](https://cferfoundation.org/support)today?  
  
Thank you warmly!

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Poway Unified Superintendent Phelps Needs to be Fired - Values and Integrity of Public Education Must be Safeguarded through Local Organizing!

As the campus movements about the Israel Hamas war expose the dangers, damages and impact of far-left ideologies crystalized as anti-racism, Critical Ethnic Studies, DEI and CRT, **CFER remains focused on the principled fight against racial discrimination and racial preferences.** We are carrying on the battles against unfair, discriminatory public policies. One of such policies is a current program  favoring certain home buyers, which is being offered by the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC).

[This particular SDHC program](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=e93e6fde0a&e=764ab5c084), entitled "**City of San Diego's First-Time Homebuyer Program for Middle-Income, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Households**," is **race-based and unconstitutional* (***see eligibility requirements below). CFER is looking for co-plaintiffs to compliment a legal challenge against the SDHC. Attorneys are ready and will litigate at no cost to the plaintiff.

You will qualify to be a plaintiff if you meet the following criteria: 
-   looking to purchase a home in the City of San Diego.
-   Haven't owned a home in the past 3 years.
-   Self-identify as white (Ironically, "self-identify" is the word SDHC uses).
-   Income falls into the following category:

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/WVP5GITT9hKZIYXpM_vct9HT-2gaYQyd_o4j6r1jNgIr7IctQPVZr40cZTCGK6EctB0fkl1bcEGvJXQ7NRnZjUqZQypY_NUFfxXOGT0Ib0lq10AyRmyBfnn97qF0TISR1P6c5jfgeuSLgP83Fb1RB_E)

On [page 6](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=2244fd7819&e=764ab5c084) of the program, the SDHC states:  "It is the policy of SDHC to provide services without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, gender, familiar status or physical/mental disability." Yet the program's eligibility requirements say otherwise. These facially illegal requirements specify that "Assistance under this program is for eligible borrowers who self-identify as black, indigenous or other person of color. This includes borrowers that self-identify as Hispanic/Latinx and any race **other than white.**"

**This is unacceptable!** Such criteria imply racial disparities that still exist in our society require discriminatory measures. Offering public, taxpayer-funded programs based on race is not only unconstitutional, but also conveys the message that the political establishment and bureaucracy believe they are above the law. The SDHC cannot make up its 'own rules' which in turn violates the California state constitution. The state constitution explicitly bans 'preferential treatment' by race under [**Proposition 209**](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=4e1c661fc6&e=764ab5c084), a citizen-initiated ballot measure approved in 1996 and reaffirmed in 2020 via the defeat of Prop. 16.

**Filing a lawsuit to challenge this program will serve as a serious warning to local public entities that no one is above the law.** If you would like to join the fight and if you believe you qualify as a plaintiff, **please contact CFER at <info@cferfoundation.org> or simply reply to this email**. This program is ***NOT*** one that offers "equal opportunity" for all. We need your help to push back against this nonsense, either as a co-plaintiff or as a donor to help fund CFER as a watchdog organization that **defends equality for all.**

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Need plaintiffs to fight against a discriminatory housing program in San Diego!

Last week, CFER advisor Joe Nalven [asked](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=d98855978a&e=764ab5c084) for your help to collect statements regarding Hamas's terrorist attacks on Israel and innocent Israelis. We have been able to collect dozens of statements from American universities, organizations, public schools and private schools. Of those statements, more than half failed to mention or condemn "Hamas"  ─ they may have attempted to be politically correct; or they may have failed despite worldwide reports that Hamas initiated the horrific assault on Israeli civilians. Astonishingly, only one statement mentioned "values," the most fundamental belief a person can have that guides daily decisions.

Instead, the majority of these statements provoke fancy euphemisms like "diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)," "justice," "safe space," "(anti-) bigotry," "(no) hate," "anti-racism," "(anti-) discrimination," "(anti-) bias," and "belonging." Just take a look at the statement from The [Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=4dbcaed1f5&e=764ab5c084) and contrast it with the one from the [Poway Unified School District (PUSD)](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=e5c5c26bf2&e=764ab5c084).

![](https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/z-j4vsMPN8Zu6dfekzviXSm18HrEYHHPAtfn6w80sqGI4D7bJEsiH-wedx8NO07CdXr1pEaCY3T7K1VjNu_ZSunYab_3HPcRuw6ApEkHfx-NT6ik8axysxxoAe3_vg6XP_HV0UrDkgt8cSstcttrPiu6yeyYfw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://mcusercontent.com/b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0/images/081d4ef4-09b2-d51a-4dfb-2bb12d86485c.png)

Will a statement such as the one from the PUSD foster any sort of belonging? It blames "hate," "prejudice," "racism," and "retaliation," but fails to recognize that Hamas is the instigator of the latest Israel-Hamas war. Will an official stance from a public entity like that of PUSD bring people together and build understanding? The answer is a resounding NO . On the contrary, such sentiments and rhetoric ─ obsessed with corrosive identity politics and oppression ideology ─ are contributing factors to terrorist regimes like Hamas. Such regimes exercise coercive control, weaponize hate and indoctrinate  individuals to commit atrocities! At home, the ideology of oppression, anti-racism, anti-colonialism (similar to that [shared and propagated](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=ee0959dbe2&e=764ab5c084) by Hamas) translates into the widespread use of critical race theory (CRT) and CRT-themed indoctrination in our schools, communities and businesses.

On Thursday, October 12th, PUSD held its monthly [BOE meeting](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=693adb7c7d&e=764ab5c084). It opened with Board President Dr. Patel asking for a moment of silence. Once again, just one day after issuing a written statement, PUSD leadership refused to acknowledge the "Hamas terrorist attack." Sadly, PUSD's reactions are typical of "mainstream America." A so-called "inclusive" statement without mentioning basic facts only alienate and gaslight the victims. Several PUSD parents and members from the local Jewish community spoke. They criticized the statement as vague and that it did not make the community feel SAFE. They even shared a few incidents of racist comments and antisemitic incidents in the school district.

At the same board meeting, two students claimed that they do not identify as Americans and don't feel safe and welcome when there are only the American flag and California state flag on display. They demanded a Mexican flag to show that the district "inclusive." Really? If public school districts start to cave into these requests under the name of DEI, fundamental American values will erode.

The only way to fight against DEI ideology is to get involved in your local school district. The Jewish community stood up ([here](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=af36832044&e=764ab5c084) and more can be found in the public comments session of the [meeting](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=5db66e5ea4&e=764ab5c084)), resulting in three of five PUSD board members condemning Hamas terrorist attacks ([here](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=1c9a7a7e8c&e=764ab5c084), [here](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=cdcd856649&e=764ab5c084) and [here](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=95a2af9046&e=764ab5c084)). Now, more than ever, it is the community's responsibility to revive our values when school officials hesitate to do their job, both at the school district level as well as among our young students.

CFER will continue to do its best to expose the damage that DEI ideology has done to our society and to our culture. In this fight, your prompt action is needed! We need you to be a watchdog in your local school district so that we can work together to bring good values back and to improve the quality of education in the process. If you wonder how and why so many local parents and community members are consistently showing up and speaking at PUSD board meetings, I would like to connect you with the local watchdog organization [PUSD Community Watch](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=af61fb71ef&e=764ab5c084).

As always, CFER's work supporting local organizing and educating the public depends on your support. If you can, please consider [making a kind donation](https://cferfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b78c84756813bc7a3a38500a0&id=f4e53bffc5&e=764ab5c084) to us today.

Thank you in advance!

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