The Seattle Police Department will no longer send out patrol units in response to security alarm calls unless they are accompanied by "supporting evidence."
On September 13, Seattle interim police Chief Sue Rahr issued a letter explaining that the department regularly receives a barrage of calls from alarm monitoring companies, and only a tiny fraction of them correspond to actual criminal activity. The vast majority of cases are simply accidental sensor trips or equipment malfunctions, she said.
'There is a better way.'
To demonstrate, Rahr claimed that SPD received 13,000 such alarm calls for businesses and residences in 2023 alone. Of them, fewer than 4% "were confirmed to have a crime associated with them that resulted in an arrest or report being written," she wrote.
Staffing shortages have forced SPD officials to rethink their response protocols. Beginning October 1, SPD will dispatch a patrol unit only when "supporting evidence" — including audio, video, eyewitnesses, and/or a concomitant panic alarm — indicates that a crime is underway.
"With depleted resources we cannot prioritize a patrol response when there is a very low probability that criminal activity is taking place," Rahr said.
"Our highest priority is responding to violent in-progress incidents that threaten the safety of our communities."
Rahr's letter clarified that the new policy will not alter existing licensing and reporting requirements for alarm system monitoring companies as defined in the city municipal code.
The new policy will affect approximately 75,000 alarm sites, KOMO reported.
Representatives from some alarm companies expressed dismay about the policy change, claiming it will especially endanger children and businesses such as banks, pharmacies, and gun stores that carry items coveted by burglars. They were also frustrated that they have been given so little time to prepare for the change.
"The verified response policy has been tried and rejected numerous times including by cities such as Dallas, Texas, and San Jose, California. It goes against best practices established through a collaborative effort by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Sheriff’s Association," said a statement from Washington Alarm.
"Our industry supports the police and agrees that they need to conserve resources. But there is a better way."
Steve Autio of ADI Global Distribution agreed that the new policy will "make the city even less safe."
He also wishes the department had reached out to the alarm companies before sending the letter. "We can work together with the police department to come up with other ideas," Autio told My Northwest.
Members of some companies are expected to attend city council meetings this week to voice their concerns.
H/T: The Post Millennial
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Bill Steinkirchner and his wife, Melanie, got a call Sunday morning from their college-student daughter that no parent wants to receive.
Melanie Steinkirchner wrote on Facebook that their daughter was walking to breakfast when a male assaulted her, took swings at her, said he had a gun, and threatened to kill her. She was able to duck down, run, and avoid getting hurt, but she was still shaken during her phone call home.
But Dad was undeterred, recalling to the station that he told police, 'No! I'm not gonna stop following him. This is my daughter. I’ve got to get this guy.'
But her home is in Southern California — and KIRO-TV noted that the Steinkirchners' daughter is a student at the University of Washington in Seattle. That's about 1,000 miles away.
But that distance was no barrier for Dad.
"As soon as we got that call, Bill booked a flight and was on his way to Seattle," Melanie wrote on Facebook. "I truly didn't want him taking this into his own hands, but I couldn't stop him."
Steinkirchner — owner of Stone Church Brewing in Corona — told the station he booked the next flight to Seattle with the intention of confronting the male who threatened his daughter.
“I think any father would’ve done the same thing," he told KIRO. "It’s my baby girl."
Oh, and by the way, Steinkirchner told Blaze News his previous profession was Army colonel.
Melanie wrote on Facebook that her husband landed in Seattle around 2:30 p.m. that same day and arrived at the university district around 3:30 p.m. Steinkirchner had descriptions of the male and received photos of him from his daughter and her fellow students, KIRO said, adding that students reported on a UW message board being harassed by the same male throughout the weekend.
Steinkirchner told KIRO he was retracing his daughter's steps — and around 4 p.m. he spotted the assailant, Melanie wrote.
"And I looked at him, and I said, 'Hey!'" Steinkirchner recounted to KIRO, adding that he yelled a few expletives at the male, who immediately ran away.
Steinkirchner added to the station that despite the fact that he turns 60 next month and was wearing a backpack, he chased after the male.
What's more, Steinkirchner added to KIRO that he was on the phone with police during the chase through an alley, noting that authorities ordered him to "stop following" the male and insisted that "you can’t chase him."
But Dad was undeterred, recalling to the station that he told police, "No! I'm not gonna stop following him. This is my daughter. I’ve got to get this guy."
KIRO said Steinkirchner finally cornered the male, and police soon arrived and handcuffed him.
Officers then brought Steinkirchner’s daughter to the scene to identify the suspect, the station said. Here's video from Steinkirchner of that moment:
Police then took 23-year-old Ryan Dileo into custody, KIRO said.
"A nearby security guard identified Dileo as the suspect in other similar incidents involving swinging a broom. Officers arrested Dileo for investigation of felony harassment. Dileo was booked in the King County Jail," Seattle police said in a statement to the station.
Melanie added the following to her Facebook post, "Dad to the rescue!! Bill finally got to see Kyra back on campus after the police dropped her back, and she ran to him and gave him the biggest hug."
You can view KIRO's video report and interview with Steinkirchner here.
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Washington state's Republican-backed Initiative 2081, referred to as "A Parents' Bill of Rights," was approved earlier this year by the state legislature in two landslide votes. The Democrats who control both chambers apparently permitted it through knowing they will likely be able to transmogrify it in the next legislative session.
Nevertheless, to the chagrin of leftists and other groups ostensibly keen on cleaving children from their parents, Republican state Rep. Jim Walsh's Initiative 2081 became law on June 6.
The law declares 15 rights that parents and guardians of public school children necessarily have, such as the right to:
Walsh underscored that the focus of all the elements of the bill was information.
"Custodial parents and guardians cannot be kept in the dark about what their minor children are going through in their lives," Walsh said last month. "Parents have to be told — whether it's things happening at school or things happening in the healthcare or mental healthcare space connected with school, or really anything affecting a minor child."
The legal acknowledgement of such natural rights in a state where the family is otherwise under siege prompted legal action from a number of radical LGBT organizations, represented ultimately by the activist firms QLaw and Legal Voice along with the ACLU of Washington.
They sued last month to halt the implementation of the initiative. This week, a judge granted them a minor victory.
Upon filing their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the legislation in the Superior Court of Washington for King County on behalf of various LGBT groups, the pair of legal outfits and the ACLU of Washington recycled debunked rhetoric intimating that a failure to allow kids to transition at school behind their parents' backs and receive "affirmation" with the help from adults outside the family would result in "irreparable harm."
Adrien Leavitt, staff attorney for the state chapter of the ACLU, claimed, "The initiative passed because of deception and confusion, and it will cause life-altering negative outcomes for queer and trans students if it is implemented."
According to their complaint, the Parents' Bill of Rights "undermines, contradicts, and amends numerous laws that protect students' rights to privacy, healthcare, education, and an affirming and inclusive school environment."
On Friday, King County Superior Court Judge Michael Scott, appointed to the bench by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee in 2018, granted a temporary block against parts of the law. Specifically, Scott blocked the requirement that parents are to be granted access to all of their children's medical and mental health counseling records and the requirement that school districts promptly turn such records over, reported the Washington State Standard.
Most parts of the Parents' Bill of Right will, however, remain in place for the time being.
While Scott figured the plaintiffs had done enough to demonstrate harm and potential unconstitutionality, he stressed, "It's not this court's position to determine whether that's good policy or not."
In response to Scott's ruling, Leavitt intimated in a statement it's not enough for parents to only partially be left in the dark.
'It is the student's decision when and if their gender identity is shared, and with whom.'
"We are pleased with this ruling as it will prevent parts of I-2081 from causing further harm while we seek a final decision in this case — but this is not the end," said Leavitt. "We will keep fighting this case in hopes of a final judgment that shows this harmful law violates the State Constitution and should not be implemented or enforced."
Walsh, meanwhile, indicated he was "encouraged that the judge left the bulk of the parents' bill of rights in place," reported the Seattle Times.
Democratic State Superintendent Chris Reykdal indicated that while the court did not block the remainder of Initiative 2081, he would effectively usurp the power of lawmakers and instruct Washington school districts not to apply aspects of the law.
"Until additional clarity is provided on the areas where the initiative conflicts with existing state and federal law, school districts should not make changes to any policies and procedures that are implicated by the conflicting sets of law," Reykdal said in a statement. "When in doubt, school districts should follow federal privacy laws."
In his statement, Reykdal also emphasized that schools don't have to disclose a student's transvestism at school to their parents.
“Our state's guidance has maintained that, in order to protect student privacy and safety, schools should communicate with students who disclose they are transgender or gender expansive about the student's individual needs, preferences, and safety concerns," Reykdal continued. "It is the student's decision when and if their gender identity is shared, and with whom."
Brian Heywood, a businessman from Redmond who helped bankroll the effort to advance Initiative 2081, suggested Reykdal was actively "shredding democracy."
"WA state Superintendent of Schools believes he is above the law and that the state knows better than parents what is best for your children," added Heywood. "In November he needs to go."
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A video has gone viral of a bikini barista smashing a customer's windshield with a hammer after he threw drinks toward her in South Seattle, Washington. The employee claimed the man made threatening comments to her.
On Tuesday, a man went to get coffee at the Taste of Heaven Espresso shop. According to the owner of the coffee shop, the customer ordered a 32-ounce coffee and a 24-ounce water, which totaled about $22.
Emma Lee, the owner and sole employee of the coffee shop, said the man became outraged over the price of the two drinks.
Lee told KCPQ, "No one is forcing you to come here. The argument that he didn't know or was scammed doesn’t hold up. The prices are listed. You don’t get to name your own price."
Video shows the man getting out of his car and escalating the situation.
She said that other customers attempted to calm the man down for about 10 minutes.
In the video, the man is heard saying, "Nobody’s going to miss you," which Lee felt was a threat.
"Oh, okay so you have no problem harming me, you’re making that clear," she told KIRO-TV.
"It was a threat after screaming, spitting, and trying to pry open the window, I felt in danger," Lee claimed.
Suddenly, the irate customer threw the drinks at Lee.
Lee responded by grabbing a hammer, leaning out the drive-through window, and smashing the windshield of the customer's car.
Surveillance video of the confrontation can be seen here.
"It's one thing to yell, it’s one thing to get mad, it’s one thing to even be outside of your car and try to threaten me," Lee stated. "But to actually have the action behind it, it changed things for me where I was like 'oh no.'"
Lee called the customer's actions "disgusting."
She said, "Why should this kind of interaction be expected because of the environment?"
Lee added, "Disrespect and violence are two different things. I can handle the disrespect, the violence is like a hard, that’s where the line is crossed."
The coffee shop owner said she was acting in self-defense.
Lee asked, "It's okay for him to be outraged about the price of his drinks, enough to assault me, but it's not appropriate for me to respond?"
She defended her actions by saying, "I personally think that you thought you were going to throw drinks on me and ruin my day, you’re going to pay for a new windshield and it’s going to ruin your day."
Lee said the man refused to leave the parking lot where the Taste of Heaven Espresso shop is located, so she called the police.
Police arrived at the coffee shop.
"The police came, and they got him to leave. It was understood that what happened is, he assaulted me, and I responded," Lee said.
Seattle police said no arrests were made in the incident.
Lee has since filed charges for misdemeanor assault.
The customer is banned from the stand. He could take Lee to small claims court to make her pay the cost of his smashed windshield.
While some say the bikini barista's actions were too harsh, Lee said that women have the right to defend themselves.
"I know so many women that haven’t defended themselves in situations they definitely should’ve and could have because we know that the repercussion more likely than not is going to fall on the woman that responds to the violence than the initial violence inflicted," Lee explained.
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Less than two weeks after George Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis police in May 2020, prominent city council members gathered in front of activists and pledged to start dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department.
"Decades of police reform efforts have proved that the Minneapolis Police Department cannot be reformed and will never be accountable for its actions," the council members stated, according to the Star Tribune. "We are here today to begin the process of ending the Minneapolis Police Department and creating a new, transformative model for cultivating safety in Minneapolis."
In addition to cutting police budgets and doing away with many officers, numerous police departments also were decimated after frustrated, abused, and unsupported cops simply turned in their badges.
The "defund the police" movement was born.
And in the same way rioting commenced in Minneapolis in the wake of Floyd's death and spread across America, so did the notion of defunding and dismantling police departments. Other cities such as Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Oakland, and Chicago got into the act.
It was a bad idea.
So much so that voters in Minneapolis a year and half later rejected the idea of removing the city's police department and replacing it with "a Department of Public Safety that employs a comprehensive public health approach ..."
In addition to cutting police budgets and doing away with many officers, numerous police departments also were decimated after frustrated, abused, and unsupported cops simply turned in their badges.
Law enforcement officials in 2022 called it a "crisis." A perfect storm of spiking crime and violence in the streets — along with police getting defunded or quitting — led not only to staffing shortages, but also new cops weren't signing up.
"What they're doing now is vilifying the job, and they're connecting with our state's attorney and our chief judge, letting all these prisoners out and all these offenders out immediately," former Chicago police officer Anthony Napolitano said. "And it makes cops throw their hands up in the air and say, 'I'm not going to do this job any more.'"
Here are 10 times when "defund the police" backfired spectacularly.
The family of a man who died after a delayed police response to his medical emergency filed a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Seattle in December 2022. A year prior, 46-year-old William Yurek's son, 13, called 911 while his father was having chest pains and difficulty breathing. Yurek soon after died of cardiac arrest in front of his son. The lawsuit stated that the Seattle police department "was severely understaffed at the time of this incident due to fallout from the abandonment of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, a.k.a. 'CHOP,' a perceived lack of support from the city, vaccine mandates, and other factors, including city mismanagement." Seattle last year settled the lawsuit for $1.86 million.
Burlington's "defund the police" movement failed so dramatically that even the progressive council member who pushed it admitted the city messed up, NBC News reported in December 2021. About 18 months prior, a resolution passed that slashed the police force by 30%, removed resource officers from schools, and shifted police funding to social justice initiatives. Instead cops felt attacked, and they left the department in droves. The city, with its 44,000 residents, went from a police force of 95 to 64 — resulting in only about five officers available to patrol at night. The city's Democratic mayor, Miro Weinberger, didn’t support cutting the force and wasn't happy with the defunding efforts: “There’s a lot of damage that has been done in the last 16 months."
The city circulated a letter in late July 2020 telling residents in the third police precinct that due to the overwhelming violent crime wave, they should "be prepared to give up your cell phone and purse/wallet" — and if confronted by a violent robber "do as they say." The letter added that "robberies and Carjacking's have increased in our precinct. Cell phones, purses, and vehicles are being targeted. Some victims have been maced, dragged, assaulted, and threatened with a gun." In addition, "100 robberies and 20 carjackings have been reported to the 3rd Precinct Police in July alone." Just days after George Floyd's death, violent protesters breached the police department's 3rd precinct building and set a fire inside the station. In November, carjackings were up 537% compared to the previous year.
After the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, the city council dreamed of a "transformative new model" of public safety in which community social workers — not armed police officers — enforced the law. So a neighborhood the New York Times described as "a haven to leftist activists and bohemian artists" vowed — as a way to protest racial injustice — not to call police. But within a month, their tree-lined neighborhood became a haven for crime and hundreds of homeless people. Resident Shari Albers organized "her mostly white neighbors" to "help tackle long-standing issues with crime," but instead she was kept awake at night by the "Powderhorn Park Sanctuary." The Times reported that the homeless community "has drawn heavy car traffic into the neighborhood, some from drug dealers." Albers admitted to the paper, "I am afraid. I know my neighbors are around, but I'm not feeling grounded in my city at all. Anything could happen."
A KNTV-TV news crew was interviewing Oakland's violence prevention director on the steps of City Hall in June 2021 when two armed robbers approached the group with guns and tried to steal camera equipment. An armed security officer drove away the would-be burglars, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, but news of the scuffle broke out on social media — and it was called the perfect example of what inevitably happens when a local government cuts its police budget. A few days earlier, Oakland's City Council voted to reallocate $18 million of police funding to community violence prevention programs. Later in 2021, amazingly Oakland's liberal Mayor Libby Schaaf blamed "defund rhetoric" for a lack of police recruits amid a surge in violent crime.
A KCAL-TV report last summer linked defunding police with the brutal, two-against-one beating at Sun Valley Middle School in the Los Angeles Unified School District. A teacher tried to stop it but soon gave up and watched the attackers punch the victim as many as 35 times. The victim's mother told KCAL that the teacher admitted to her that he didn't know what to do when the girls became violent: "He said, 'I tried to do what I could, I cannot touch the students, and I would like more training on how to restrain a child, or what can I do in this situation?'" The report documented how the district defunded and reduced its police force beginning in 2020. In 2021, then-L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva blamed "defund the police" and progressive policies for a violent crime wave.
The outsourced police work was to cost Minneapolis $500,000 over six weeks at the end of 2020. The desperate move came after the city and anti-cop activists went after officers, about 100 of whom simply left the force. As crime was spiking, members of the city council In September 2020 — all of whom backed defunding the police force — actually demanded to know, "Where are the police?" What's more, in October 2020, several residents sued the city over insufficient policing, claiming there were fewer officers than what the city charter requires. A year later, a judge ordered the city to hire more police officers, and Mayor Jacob Frey admitted that calls to "defund the police" led to a spike in crime.
Portland — not surprisingly falling in line with other woke cities — cut its police budget in the summer of George Floyd by $15 million. But by early 2021, Portland moved to reintroduce a gun violence task force within the city's police department after tons of violence. Many community members blamed budget cuts, and specifically the dissolution of the Gun Violence Reduction Team, for the spike in crime. Many within the police department warned that cutting the police budget would only lead to more crime. "I'd say they're more emboldened, maybe, to be out with guns," Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said. "They know there's not someone watching. There's no real deterrent there." Later in 2021, Portland was having a tough time finding officers to fill the revamped gun violence task force.
In October 2020, the mayor announced cuts to the police department's budget in response to Black Lives Matter activists' demands. More than 600 police jobs would be eliminated. Lightfoot said police have played a "complicit role" in "brutally enforcing racist, Jim Crow laws, depriving Black and Brown people" of their "full rights as citizens." That Christmas holiday, at least eight people were killed and 30 more were wounded in citywide shootings. Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara called the "historic levels" of violence amid police cuts "ridiculous." A year later, according to the Chicago Tribune, "Lightfoot unveiled a $16.7 billion spending plan ... that boosts funding for police ..."
Mayor London Breed — who jumped on the "defund the police" bandwagon in 2020 — just a year later launched an emergency police intervention in the city's high-crime Tenderloin neighborhood over rampant drug use and related gun violence, KPIX-TV reported. "It’s time, the reign of criminals who are destroying our city, it is time for it come to an end," Breed said with an angry tone at a press conference, the station said. "And it comes to an end when we take the steps to be more aggressive with law enforcement. More aggressive with the changes in our policies and less tolerant of all the bulls**t that has destroyed our city."
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Seattle police released new video Wednesday depicting what they say shows a 13-year-old male stealing a woman's purse, throwing her to the ground, and punching her in the face, KOMO-TV reported.
The clip also shows officers arresting the suspect, the station said, adding that it all took place April 6.
Officers were called to a pharmacy in the 2600 block of Southwest Barton Street over reports of a strong-arm robbery, police told KOMO.
A woman told police she and an employee confronted a group of teens inside the store for not paying for items, the station said, adding that the woman told police one of the teens approached her and took her purse before running toward the exit.
Officials told KOMO the woman chased after the teen and caught up to him at the store's entrance.
But the teen grabbed her shirt and threw her to the ground, police told the station.
When she got back up to chase him, the teen punched her in the face, KOMO added.
Surveillance video shows the teen squaring up to the woman like a boxer, seemingly daring her to fight him — and that's when he's seen walloping her with a left hook:
Police said the teen suspect and group ran eastbound on Southwest Barton Street, KOMO said.
The victim called police, and officers found the suspect and two other teens near 18th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Barton Street, police told the station.
But it didn't appear to be an easy collar; video shows the kid lunging forward before cops surround him and introduce him to the surface of the street.
KOMO reported that the 13-year-old male was arrested and booked into the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center for investigation of robbery. Police added to the station that the two others were identified and released, the station said.
The full clip is below:
— (@)
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Members of a country line dance team said they were booted from a competition because their American flag-themed shirts made some people in the audience feel "triggered and unsafe."
Last weekend, the Borderline Dance squad was set to perform at the Emerald City Hoedown in Seattle, Washington. The dance group said they had been invited to dance at the competition for the past three years, but the pandemic prevented them from performing.
The Borderline Dance troupe stated in a Facebook post, "Dance teams work their boots off preparing for performances like these. Extra practices, babysitters, ferry rides, hours upon hours of practice and commute time and time away from their families. We all were very excited to perform for this event."
However, the country line dance squad said they were not welcome because of concerns over their American flag-themed uniforms.
"Unfortunately, what our team was met with upon arrival was that our flag tops were offensive to some of the convention goers," the group stated.
The Borderline Dance squad said there was a small group that felt "triggered and unsafe."'
The dance team said the reason why people could be offended by uniforms inspired by the American flag is because of the pro-Palestine opinions regarding the Israel-Hamas war and because of the transgender agenda.
The dance squad claimed that they were threatened with an "ultimatum" to "remove the flag tops and perform in either street clothes (which most didn’t bring as they traveled there in their uniforms) or they would supply us with ECH shirts from years past" or not be given the opportunity to perform at all.
The Borderline Dance team said all of the members decided against dancing at all at the competition. They noted that another dance squad refused to perform in solidarity with them.
"Our friends, West Coast Country Heat, who were also scheduled to dance for the convention that evening also did not perform as they too proudly don the colors of our country in the same spirit of patriotism that we do," the Facebook post read.
The dance team stated, "Because although we may not always agree with the current state of things, we recognize that being an American means true FREEDOM. We all understood and accepted this and walked out with class and dignity despite the discrimination we had experienced."
The Borderline Dance squad said they received "amazing" support from a majority of the community and Emerald City Hoedown organizers.
However, they also said that they were "disappointed" that country dance competition was "overshadowed by the political opinions of a small percentage."
The team's co-captain, Lindsay Stamp, told "The Jason Rantz Show," “My team doesn’t take a political stance. We came to dance. We’re a patriotic group. We support our military, our veterans, our first responders. We’re a group of patriots."
Ziadee Cambier, the president of the Rain Country Dance Association, said in a Facebook comment that no team was asked to leave.
"We will be in continued communication with the captains of the dance teams that were slated to perform Saturday," Cambier wrote. "To clarify, as this was not a competition, no one was disqualified and no one was asked to leave. While we are mending our relationships directly with the dance teams we will be disabling comments on this post. We will be sharing more information later this week, to hopefully clear up any misunderstandings."
However, Stamp disagreed with Cambier's statement.
"It’s pretty clear to me, there’s always room for error in any situation, but I don’t believe so," Stamp told Rantz.
“I would just love to see more conversations opened about people accepting one another," she continued. "About being wholly inclusive. You know, every group of person talks about being inclusive and accepting. And I think that we need to work on being inclusive and accepting of people outside of our immediate comfort zones. I would love to see that."
The Rain Country Dance Association did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
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Seattle Public Schools is effectively killing off its gifted and talented program, caving to leftists in and outside the district who have long complained about the racial demographics of the Highly Capable Cohort program, which evidently failed to satisfy their utopian expectations.
Forsaking quality and meritocracy, SPS has indicated it will instead pursue an alternative that will supposedly be "more inclusive, equitable, and culturally sensitive."
State law has long required that Washington schools provide and maintain programs "for highly capable students."
Qualifying students are those "who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels when compared with others of their age, experiences, or environments. Outstanding abilities are seen within students' general intellectual aptitudes, specific academic abilities, and/or creative productivities within a specific domain."
By virtue of highly capable students of any race being academically superior to other students, they are necessarily unequal.
The Seattle Times reported that as of last year, the HCC comprised roughly 5,700 students. This cohort is made up of those who scored in the top 2% on standardized exams.
Unsurprisingly, recognition of this inequality has been a sore point for leftists who figure that education ought not only to standardize generations of children by their low standards but also to produce so-called equitable outcomes.
Former SPS superintendent Denis Juneau called for dismantling the HCC program in 2019, claiming, "It is very [racially] disproportionate."
The identitarian NAACP Youth Council and other leftist groups have championed the elimination of the program in the years since, claiming it was "built upon a foundation of white supremacy and constructed with the intent to perpetuate the segregation of schools on the basis of race and socioeconomic status."
The NAACP Youth Council noted that in the 2020-2021 school year, only 1.8% of the district's 8,130 black students, then amounting to 15% of the student body, were eligible for the HCC. 13.4% of Asian students and 63.2% of white students, who altogether accounted for 13.1% and 45.6% of the overall student body, respectively, were eligible. 16.2% of mixed-race students and 5.25% of Hispanics were eligible.
In the 2022-2023 school year, the Seattle Times indicated that 52% of HCC students at SPS were white, 16% were Asian, and 3.4% were black.
"We, the NAACP Youth Council, want the HCC program abolished from SPS," wrote the identitarians. "Every student deserves an equitable and anti-racist education that recognizes their brilliance. A program built to discriminate against students has no room for fixing."
SPS began phasing out HCC schools in 2021. All will apparently be eliminated by 2027. In the way of HCC institutions affiliated with the district, there are presently three elementary schools, five middle schools, and three high schools.
The next step in the war on excellence and distinction will be the implementation of the so-called "Highly Capable Neighborhood School Model" in every school beginning in September 2024.
Under this model, students of all abilities will be lumped into the same classroom. Teachers will then reportedly be tasked with creating individualized learning plans for each of their 20 to 30 students.
According to SPS, "All teachers will provide teaching and learning that is delivered with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and differentiated to meet the needs of students within their grade level. The approach includes three tiers of service for students depending on individual needs, delivered in a way that honors individual cultures and backgrounds."
While all students will participate in Tier 1 learning, individuals flagged as needing more advanced or involved learning will be awarded Tier 2 services. After participating in Tier 1 and Tier 2 services, students, now assessed yearly, found still needing "something in addition to meet their complex needs," will receive Tier 3 services.
Critics suspect that SPS will ultimately bungle the implementation of its new scheme, especially because its $105 million deficit means it lacks the funds to train teachers on how to help highly capable students, reported the Seattle Times.
Teachers have complained anonymously to KOMO-TV that the district has provided teachers with no extra time, aid in the classroom, curricular help, or compensation to meet the unique needs of every student in a single classroom.
"I was a classroom teacher for 14 years. It's really hard to provide services to students when you have a group of kindergartners learning phonics and then you have a kindergarten[er] that's like fluently reading Harry Potter," said Reby Parsley, a gifted education specialist with the Washington Association of Educators of the Talented and Gifted.
"It seems to me that kids on maybe both extremes are going to be underserved," Erika Ruberry, a parent of a second-grader at a HCC elementary, told the Times.
Karen Stukovsky, a mother who has three kids at HCC schools, said, "You have some kids who can barely read and some kids who are reading 'Harry Potter' in first grade or kindergarten. How are you going to not only get those kids up to grade level and also challenge those kids who are already way above grade level?"
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A three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal government has the authority to deport illegal immigrants even if local leaders try to impede the process. The case arose after King County Executive Dow Constantine issued an executive order in 2019 that instructed county officials to prohibit “fixed base operators” […]
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