"Equity" Evolves in California

Kevin Kiley

• By Kevin Kiley, Republican Assemblyman, District 6

The CA Department of Education’s “Superintendent of Equity,” one Daniel Lee, has resigned his $180k/year position. This comes a day after I sent a letter pointing out his hiring was illegal.

Lee doesn’t even live on the West Coast. He lives and works in Philadelphia as a life coach. (I’m not kidding: see his promo video — https://www.youtube.com/embed/AwmcZrR0P5E.) So how did he land this no-show paycheck courtesy of California taxpayers?

Perhaps it has something to do with being in the wedding party of the politician who hired him, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond. Thurmond, incidentally, was installed in his office the same way as Gavin Newsom – $13 million in spending by teachers unions. 

What does a Superintendent of Equity do, anyway? The position is new, apparently created by Thurmond just for his groomsman. A good rule of thumb in California politics is when you hear the word “equity,” something fishy is afoot. 

Last year, for example, Newsom introduced a COVID “equity metric” that locked down counties based on bizarre factors like voter turnout. It was also to promote “equity” that he just made CRT a graduation requirement.. 

Now, in the name of equity, California’s largest school districts are getting rid of D and F grades; the CA Board of Education is set to abolish advanced math in high school; and state universities are eliminating the SAT or any admissions test.

Our politicians think they can get away with anything. With Daniel Lee’s resignation, we’ve proven at least one of them wrong. This coming year we can prove all of them wrong in a major way.