DOJ Probes Iowa’s Largest School District After Arrest of Superintendent

The Justice Department said on Sept. 30 that it was opening an investigation into whether Iowa’s largest school district was violating employment discrimination law through its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The announcement came just days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested the Des Moines Public School District’s superintendent, an illegal immigrant whom the school district said was passionate about DEI. Neither the Justice Department’s announcement nor the letter mentions the now-former superintendent, Ian Andre Roberts, but pointed to language from the district’s website and documents as evidence that it might be violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

That included a section of Des Moines Public Schools Board governance policies that stated the superintendent “shall not allow the composition of the teaching and learning staff to diverge regarding demographics and cultural responsivity, from the student population while utilizing hiring practices in accordance” with the district’s vision.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the department’s civil rights division, sent a letter to Interim Superintendent Matt Smith in which she said the administration had reason to believe the district was violating Title VII.

Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The Des Moines Public School District did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment before publishing time.

Dhillon’s letter pointed to a 2021 affirmative action plan that she said included race- and color-based teacher recruitment goals. Under a section labeled “recruitment goals,” the school district set goals of increasing “the number of teachers of colors” in various grades by specific percentages.

The document acknowledges that state and federal laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race and other factors, but suggests that these laws don’t prohibit affirmative action. It pointed to a section of Iowa law that directs “affirmative action measures to correct deficiencies in school district, area education agency, and community college employment systems where those remedies are appropriate.”

The plan added that “anti-discrimination law regulates what shall not be done and affirmative action law regulates what shall be done.”

It also states that the “goals are not to be treated or understood as rigid and inflexible quotas that must be met, but as reasonable aspirations toward correcting imbalance in the work force.”

As part of that plan, the school district created a program for identifying minority teachers and guaranteeing an interview for them if they participate in the program.

“DEI initiatives and race-based hiring preferences in our schools violate federal anti-discrimination laws and undermine educational priorities,” Dhillon said in a press release.

The investigation will likely draw greater scrutiny to a school district that has been under fire for one of its most important personnel decisions. On Sept. 29, it revoked Roberts’ license while stating that he no longer possessed legal presence in the United States.

The Associated Press reported Roberts submitted his resignation on Sept. 30, with his lawyer stating that he was focusing on challenging his impending deportation.

ICE said that Roberts, a Guyana national who entered the United States on a student visa in 1999, had $3,000 in cash, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and a loaded gun on Sept. 26, the day he was apprehended and attempted to flee from ICE officers.

Roberts also has existing weapon possession charges from Feb. 5, 2020, and an immigration judge had issued him a final order of removal in May 2024, according to ICE.

“How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal, and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson said.

The Associated Press reported on Sept. 26 that district spokesperson Phil Roeder said the district hadn’t seen anything “that would suggest that he’s not a citizen.” According to Roeder, Roberts completed an I-9 employment eligibility verification form, which requires documentation of work authorization.