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In a move generating significant discussion, a California school district identified for its below-average performance has allocated close to $300,000 for an innovative educational partnership. The district aims to enhance student engagement through a rap-based curriculum, a decision that has caught the attention of the Justice Department, prompting concerns about its implications.
The Merced City School District, known for its challenges in academic achievement, has entered into a $270,000 agreement with the organization School Yard Rap, according to reports from the New York Post. This collaboration is designed to incorporate elements of hip-hop into educational programming, aiming to make learning more relatable and engaging for students.
A key component of this initiative is a summer program dubbed “Rap Camp,” along with an “African American Affinity Group.” These elements of the program have sparked debate over their compliance with federal guidelines, raising questions about the appropriateness and legality of such a partnership.
The district’s investment in School Yard Rap is part of an effort to integrate hip-hop culture into the educational experience, with components such as historical lessons, songwriting, DJ-ing, and performance activities. The aim is to create a dynamic and interactive learning environment that resonates with students.
Lessons include history lessons, songwriting, DJ-ing and performances.
“The School Yard Rap curriculum transforms history lessons into relatable characters presented through songs and storytelling- resulting in emotional connection,” the School Yard Rap website states.
The school district told Fox News Digital that it “proudly supports the partnership” with School Yard Rap, which fosters “a unique approach to education by engaging students through music, media, interactive assemblies and much more.”
The camps are advertised and open to all 3rd through 8th grade students across (the) Merced City School District, it said.
Established in 2016, School Yard Rap, which operates in 28 states, presents “a world where learning meets rhythm, exploring diverse cultures and subjects through interactive music-infused modules.”
Merced has handed out $610,000 worth of contracts to School Yard Rap, the Post reported. Fox News Digital has reached out to the school district and School Yard Rap.
The Justice Department told Fox News Digital that any race-based programming is “troubling.”
“It is illegal for the government to offer benefits solely on the basis of race. We have not had the opportunity to investigate these allegations, but if true, they are troubling,” Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told Fox News Digital.
The Merced City School District entered into a contract with School Yard Rap for a rap-based curriculum. (iStock)
Brandon Brown, a former school teacher and founder of School Yard Rap, told the newspaper that the programming wasn’t exclusionary.
“This camp specifically — the African American Affinity Camp — is open to every single student grades 3rd to 8th, focusing on African American history and the diaspora,” he said. “I think this is politically driven and the reason this is being called out.”
However, one of School Yard Rap’s programs, titled “Moor than a Month” features song lyrics mimicking those by hip-hop group Migos, which talks about white patriarchy.
“I’mma be Black every day that I’m here, no cap, for more than a month, just like every Black kid in class,” the song said.
“So this album for them, but this track’s for you — every teacher and parent, you need this truth,” one line states. “History books have a white male skew, but believe me I ain’t blaming you. That’s who wrote it on paper — it’s a cycle by nature.”
The school district serves 11,400 students but has a student-teacher ratio of 25 to 1, according to Niche, a website that compiles data to rank and review schools. Only 13% of the students meet math-proficiency benchmarks, the report states.
The Justice Department has launched probes recently into other school districts for alleged race-based programs and hiring practices. In April 2025, it began looking into Chicago Public Schools’ Black Student Success Plan over alleged race-based benefits.
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