Dear San Rafael parents, community members and concerned citizens,

We urge you to contact San Rafael City Schools (SRCS) leadership, including its superintendent and board members to demand they immediately pause the implementation of a discriminatory program called “Parents for Racial Equity.”

Between October 4, 2023 and January 17, 2024, the SRCS will host a series of racial equity workshops for parents who “have an interest in engaging with a community of learners to elevate their racial consciousness, expand their personal knowledge and develop the tools to talk about race and racism.” Steeped in ideologically loaded jargons, this upcoming program is a political litmus test, funded by SRCS taxpayers, that will compel attendees to hyper-focus on race and conform to certain viewpoints. Alarmingly, the program contains this disclaimer: “[T]his series is NOT for those who want to debate about issues of race or racism,” which shows its illiberal and discriminatory nature.

A partnership between SRCS and Dr. Lori Watson, a self-proclaimed anti-racist trainer with far-left political beliefs, the “Parent for Racial Equity” program consists of the following four workshops:

1. October 4, 2023, Language/ “Tools”/ Parameters: How to talk about race.
2. November 1, 2023, Beliefs/Consciousness: How to construct racial narratives.
3. December 6, 2023, Whiteness: How to define white privilege, culture and consciousness.
4. January 17, 2024, Children & Race: How to talk to children about race.

These components not only promote divisive and controversial political beliefs, but also inculcate racially discriminatory treatment of individuals, which contravenes the constitutional right of San Rafael parents, students and community members to equal treatment. Racially disparate treatment, as promoted in the workshops, also violates California Ed. Code 201 which prohibits public schools from engaging in discrimination and bias. Notably, the program’s premise that “children begin to notice race as early as 6 months and begin to develop biases as young as 3” is a radical notion often invoked and abused to justify divisive and discriminatory programs that indoctrinate students and the community.

As such, we encourage you to reach out to SRCS Superintendent Diaz Ghysels and the SRCS Board of Education to oppose the “Parent for Racial Equity” workshops. You can contact them via email:

1. Superintendent Diaz Ghysels: superintendent@srcs.org
2. Board President Gina Daly: gdaly@srcs.org
3. Board Vice President Lucia Martel-Dow: lmarteldow@srcs.org
4. Board Member Linda Jackson: ljackson@srcs.org
5. Board Member Carolina Martin: cmartin@srcs.org
6. Board Member Marina Palma: mpalma@srcs.org

Our friends at the New Tolerance Campaign have created a form that allows you to send a message to Superintendent Ghysels and the SRCS Board with just a few clicks. You can access the form here.

Going forward, CFER will continue to monitor future developments regarding these racial equity workshops in San Rafael and keep the local community updated.

Thank you in advance!