ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The organization “Parents Defending Education” is demanding a federal investigation into the Rochester City School District, accusing the district of employment discrimination.

The organization says RCSD has updated its equity policy to implement quotas for hiring diverse educators and staff, which they claim promotes race-based hiring. However, RCSD says that’s not the case and if the organization wants to take them to court, they’re ready.

Parents Defending Education sent a letter to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requesting an investigation into what they are calling employment discrimination by RCSD. The organization says the district’s Racial Equity Action Plan underscores that not all candidates are weighed the same during the hiring process, which they say is a violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

RCSD Board President Cynthia Elliott says they are not stopping the recruitment of white teachers, but it’s important for students to have representation.

“I don’t care what they think! We are going to still do what we need to do in order to ensure that we have Black and Brown adults in front of Black and Brown students,” Elliott said. “This is not about quotas for us but this is what we believe that is going to be able to enable our students to be successful. So if they want to sue they can bring it on because I’m prepared to do that because we are going to try to recruit more African Americans, more teachers of color.”

Elliott added that just because a person is certified doesn’t mean they are qualified to work with the students in the district. She believes a person who grew up in the community where they teach is more qualified.

“If the certification meant that they were qualified, we would have a higher academic success rate. We do not. What I tend to believe is what qualifies a person is the community that they understand and the students they understand,” Elliott said.

When asked about the 10% increase in the RCSD action plan they are looking to achieve with hiring black and brown teachers, Elliott said, “That doesn’t mean that it’s a quota. That means that we are going to try to recruit at that level. That’s a benchmark.”

According to the district, 86% of the student body are Black or Brown, but only 25% of teachers.

Teachers union president Adam Urbanski also weighed in on the issue.

“We are just expanding the pool of candidates in order to do right by our students. Our students need to see in front of them some teachers who look like them,” Urbanski said. “It’s not a quota, it’s a goal. It’s a mark they are trying to come close to, nothing wrong with that.”

News10NBC reached out to Parents Defending Education for this story, but no one was made available for an interview.

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