The federal government has implored Broward County schools to terminate its partnership with Latinos In Action, a national leadership program for all K-12 students — or face a federal funding cut — claiming the program discriminates against race.
In a letter to Broward Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn, U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights officials wrote Latinos In Action, or LIA, "appears to be explicitly organized around the concept of Latino ethnicity" and thus engages in "textbook racial discrimination."
" I was very surprised and a little confused," by the letter, Broward school board chair Debbie Hixon told WLRN. "It's been a program that we've had for a long time. It's been very successful and it's a great program of students helping other students."
Started in Los Angeles, LIA is a national program fostering leadership skills in elementary, middle and high school youth. It emphasizes college and career readiness through academic rigor and community service. Older students visit neighboring middle and elementary schools to serve as role models and literacy tutors, including for students with special needs.
Latinos In Action did not respond to multiple requests for interviews.
More than 50 Broward County middle and high schools house LIA. Of the 236,000 students in Broward County schools, nearly 40% are Hispanic.
The letter, citing only information from the LIA website, says there's no explanation the district can offer to "overcome the patent illegality of its unlawful exclusionary program" and that having the program may be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Hixon said the department's interpretation of the program is incorrect: Broward County Public Schools does not offer a class called Latinos In Action, she explained, rather leadership classes in which the LIA curriculum is partly used. There's also an after-school LIA club.
"So any student who wanted to take the leadership class has the ability to do that," Hixon said. "If [the Department of Education] had looked to see, it's not that only Latinos can take those classes — any student who's interested in taking the classes" is allowed.
She said the department didn't reach out to the district about the program before issuing the letter.
With federal education officials threatening to cut a $30 million in grants — if the program isn't terminated — the district is going to comply and remove the LIA curriculum in leadership classes by the start of the 2026 spring semester, Hixon said.
"If we don't have the funds, we can't be offering students the different opportunities that are important for them," Hixon said. "So it is a balancing act and you know, oftentimes it is about having a conversation — not just a letter that comes."
The contentious letter from the federal government raised a particular issue with the FAQ section of the LIA website: one questions asks if the program is only for Latino students. The answer stated, according to the letter, was that 80% of the class must be Latino and the other 20% may be from any other racial and ethnic backgrounds. "This is prohibited racial balancing," the letter says. (The FAQ section is not currently available online).
However, according to school board member Adam Cervera, the district's contract with the organization doesn't include — much less require — that ethnic split.
" I am a proud Cuban-American and, of course, I want all Latinos to feel represented in within their respective communities, not only in Broward County, [but] in the state and in our country," Cervera said. "However, we have to do this within the confines of all state and federal laws."
The U.S. Department of Education did not respond to questions about other districts in the state or country receiving the same or similar correspondence.
" I know that we're being targeted, obviously, with this letter," school board member Adam Cervera told WLRN, "but following federal and state law falls into all facets of everything that the district does."
The LIA club will remain available to students.
In a letter to Broward parents, the district assured its commitment to all students.
"The District will continue to provide enrichment opportunities, leadership development, and pathways that prepare every student for success in college, career, and community."
