October 3, 2007:  

      The California School Boards Association is holding out against the civil rights law Proposition 209 by mandating directors who must be either Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Asian/Pacific Islander. 

       “Our publicly-elected school boards are supposed to be examples for the public and school children, but the by-laws of the California School Boards Association make them scofflaws on their face,” stated Carl Olson, Founder of Textbook Trust.  “We have asked them to stop this illegal activity immediately, and have asked Attorney General Jerry Brown to help them comply.”

       The California Civil Rights Initiative (Proposition 209) became law upon vote of the public in 1996 says, “The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”

       The four directors in these discriminatory positions are Gwen Estes of the New Haven Unified School District (Black), Susan Heredia of the Natomas Unified School District (Hispanic), Shelly Yarbrough of theVal Verde Unified School District (American Indian), and Ben Liao of the Cupertino Union School District (Asian/Pacific Islander).

        Four top officers of the association have not yet responded to the requests to amend the bylaws:  President Kathleen Kinley of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, President-Elect Paul Chatman of the Ocean View School District, Vice President Paula Campbell of the Nevada City School District, and Immediate Past President Luan Rivera of the Ramona Unified School District.  The association’s website is www.csba.org. 

      Only in California can White be Black and Asian be American Indian.  The California School Boards Association also claims that it is immune from Proposition 209 even though it is mentioned by name in the California Education Code.

      In an October 12 letter (reproduced below) the Executive Director Scott Plotkin stated, "...under CSBA's Bylaws these directors-at-large [Black, Hispanic, American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander] are elected as representatives of the designated ethnic minority groups and any person, regardless of race or ethnicity, may be elected to the position so long as they are a member of a district board or a county office of education whose board is a member of CSBA."

      He further stated, "Furthermore, the provisions of Proposition 209 do not apply to CSBA, a non-profit California corporation, as opposed to a governmental entity described as part of the 'state' to which Proposition 209 applies."

      Proposition 209 applies to all entities and instrumentalities of the state.  (Copy below.)   Education Code sections 10551(d)(3), 14502.1(a), and 52070(b) specifically mention CSBA by name to conduct official duties.

Proposition 209

 Following is the text of the California Civil Rights Initiative/Proposition 209 which

appeared before California voters on the November 1996 ballot. The proposition passed

on November 5, 1996 by 54% of California voters.  Authored by Glynn Custred and Tom Wood

(a) The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any

individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in

the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

 (b) This section shall apply only to action taken after the section's effective date.

 (c) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting bona fide qualifications

based on sex which are reasonably necessary to the normal operation of public

employment, public education, or public contracting.

 (d) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as invalidating any court order or consent

decree which is in force as of the effective date of this section.

 (e) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting action which must be taken

to establish or maintain eligibility for any federal program, where ineligibility would

result in a loss of federal funds to the state.

 (f) For the purposes of this section, "state" shall include, but not necessarily be

limited to, the state itself, any city, county, city and county, public university system,

including the University of California, community college district, school district,

special district, or any other political subdivision or governmental instrumentality

of or within the state.

 (g) The remedies available for violations of this section shall be the same, regardless of

the injured party's race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin, as are otherwise available

for violations of then-existing California antidiscrimination law.

 (h) This section shall be self-executing. If any part or parts of this section are found to be

in conflict with federal law or the United State Constitution, the section shall be

implemented to the maximum extent that federal law and the United States Constitution

permit. Any provision held invalid shall be severable from the remaining portions of this

section.

                                                        2007 Board of Directors

California School Boards Association