This week, New York City’s elite private schools are set to participate in a “diversity symposium” hosted by a nonprofit organization. Some critics argue this group fuels antisemitic and anti-Western sentiments while transforming prestigious educational establishments into “indoctrination centers” under the guise of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion from as early as pre-kindergarten.
The New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) is leading the Diversity Symposium 2026, which begins on April 9 at the Lycée Français De New York. The event aims to evaluate the current implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and to address the pressing question: “Where do we go from here?”
In a recent State of the Union address, former President Trump claimed his administration had effectively “ended DEI” across the nation, as universities and corporations have scaled back or dismantled such programs. Despite this, the NYSAIS symposium is offering a workshop aimed at revamping DEI initiatives within New York City’s elite K-12 schools, albeit under a different moniker but with similar objectives and intentions.
Entitled “Reclaiming Belonging in the Classroom: Equity as the Universal Design for Teachers and Schools,” the workshop recognizes that “equity language” has become “increasingly politicized.” It intends to “reclaim equity work” within classrooms by presenting DEI as Universal Design for Learning (UDL), thus reframing the conversation around inclusive education.
The workshop, called “Reclaiming Belonging in the Classroom: Equity as the Universal Design for Teachers and Schools,” acknowledges that “equity language” has become “increasingly politicized,” and pledges to “reclaim equity work” inside classrooms by “framing DEI as Universal Design for Learning (UDL).”
Another workshop called “The Belonging Lab: A Hands-On Design Studio for Story, Structure and Courageous Dialogue” describes itself as inviting “participants to dig into African indigenous knowledge systems long ignored or undervalued, remembering how communities sustained wisdom, governance, healing and education outside of books and beyond educational colonial structures.”
The opening workshop of the event touts it “invites educators and school leaders to explore equity and inclusion as core instructional and organizational practices, not add-ons.”
The speaker and presenter of the symposium will be Liza Talusan, who is described in her bio as “an educator, facilitator, and strategic change partner for organizations, corporations, leadership teams, schools and individuals who are looking to build their skills in areas of identity and leadership.”
Critics of the NYSAIS and symposium call its parent organization, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), a “shadowy group that is hell-bent on expanding curricula and an educational environment that has a long history of antisemitic and anti-Western actions.”
They argue that the divisive, discriminatory DEI practices that pervade the curricula of top private schools like Brearley, Spence, Dalton and others amount to little more than “indoctrination centers” that teach pupils from an early age to view everything through the victim-oppressor lens.
Students then carry those views into their college years, which came to fruition during the widespread and disruptive campus takeovers during the spring of 2024.
The Trump administration waged war against the discriminatory practices at the nation’s most prestigious universities, presenting schools with ultimatums and threatening to withdraw federal funding for noncompliance.
These efforts at the federal level led to schools enacting systemic changes to curb antisemitism and discriminatory practices, most notably at Columbia University.
But Michelle Parker, a New York lawyer representing the parents of independent private school students, says DEI is alive and well at many of the 203 elite schools that make up the NYSAIS, and even accelerating in some cases.
“The administration is working to eliminate the discriminatory aspects of DEI in both higher ed and public K-12, but it is still being taught and practiced in private schools. We all watched the divisive nature of DEI play out after October 7 when universities allowed the targeting of certain students under the guise of peaceful campus protests. It is remarkable that prestigious federally tax-exempt private schools throughout our country have escaped this scrutiny,” she told The Post.
“If the government believes DEI, as it is being taught and practiced, is discriminatory, then it is discriminatory and harmful regardless of whether the school is public or is private. Under existing federal regulations, private schools that discriminate are ineligible for federal tax-exempt status. These revered entities should not get a pass, rather they should either operate in accordance with the law or operate without the privilege of a tax-free existence.”
Parker said she’s frequently asked why parents can’t just take their kids out of schools that don’t align with their values and move them somewhere else, but that the issue is more complex than that.
“Parents tell me that uprooting a child and moving them away from their friends, and away from the only school they have ever known, is emotional. There is also the issue that private school administrators talk and families could be blackballed. The bigger issue is that leaving won’t solve the problem,” she said.
The consequence of a parent moving their child is that one child is protected from the potential harm, while the school continues to infuse divisive content into curriculum and throughout school operations. So while one parent who knows better may move their child, another parent who doesn’t yet know what is at stake slides their kid into that spot,” she said.
“Parker sent a memo to Congress asking for a Congressional inquiry into discrimination at tax-exempt K-12 private independent schools and seeking action by state attorneys general to enforce existing state laws that govern nonprofit independent private schools in their state.”
The Post reached out to NYSAIS and Talusan for comment but did not hear back.
