A small group of Portland Public Schools staff members are coming under fire from a national conservative group.

According to the Portland Press Herald, Portland Public School’s BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Community Circle has come under fire from conservative group Parents Defending Education, who put in a complaint to the US Department of Education.

The BIPOC Community Circle, which has been running since 2017, is an informal small group of Portland Schools’ staff from minority backgrounds, that meet together once a month to support one another. Meeting size ranges from 2 to 20. This community has been praised for being a way to meet with those who’ve felt marginalized in a district that has 86% of its staff identifying as white.

Parents Defending Education have claimed that the circle is unconstitutional, citing a law that bans federal assistance to entities that discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexuality, and more. Specifically, they’re citing the description of the group, which “welcomes all Black, Indigenous, Asian, Middle Eastern, and mixed-race staff members”., as well as links an article explaining “Why People of Color Need Spaces Without White People”.

This isn’t the first time that Parents Against Education have targeted similar groups. They’ve been making these cases all across the country and have changed policies because of their efforts. The group itself argues that “teaching students about race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender is anti-American and anti-child”, echoing a popular sentiment with conservatives over what’s known as Critical Race Theory.

Barret Wilkinson, the district’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, says that the group doesn’t receive any federal funding or resources and that the meetings are “like any other gathering among staff, an opportunity to form connections with people across schools or departments”. The Department of Education hasn’t commented on the situation.

To read the original article, click here.