This week, the Board of Regents launched an initiative to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools across the state. As the first step in the initiative, the Board released a draft framework and call to action for all schools in New York State to develop policies that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion as a priority in their schools. The framework recognizes there is no single, isolated answer that will solve society's pervasive problems; rather, the approach must be holistic and inclusive – and the Board of Regents, the New York State Education Department (NYSED), and New York’s schools will be an integral part of the solution.

The Board’s initiative comes during a pivotal moment in our nation when the country is facing its long history of racism and bigotry and the corrosive impact they have had. Recently, Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr., the Board of Regents, and I expressed our deep concern about recent acts of violence in New York and across the nation. The Board of Regents and NYSED condemn, in the strongest possible terms, these abhorrent acts of bigotry, xenophobia, and racism. Most recently, we have seen a spike in hateful rhetoric, violence, and even murder directed at Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Throughout America’s history, people thought to be different or somehow “not quite American” have been subjected to discrimination, bias, vile rhetoric, and violence. We cannot continue to let history repeat itself.