Several diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-linked student programs in Fort Worth ISD are being paused, according to an internal email obtained by a district parent.

“We want to inform you that, due to recent federal funding constraints, specific Fort Worth ISD wraparound services and programs will experience a temporary pause effective immediately,” the email reads.

The paused programs include:

My Brother’s Keeper was launched in 2014 by President Barack Obama. The initiative claims to address “opportunity gaps” for boys and young men of color, citing “persistent social inequities” caused by “structural and institutional racism,” according to its website.

Girls Inc. has drawn criticism in Tarrant County for promoting political activism in schools. In October 2023, the Tarrant County Commissioners Court voted to block state funds from going to the organization, citing ideological concerns.

“The county government should not be funding, nor should the county government be passing through money from some other source, for an organization that is so deeply ideological and encourages the children that they are teaching to go advocate for social change,” County Judge Tim O’Hare said, as reported by the Fort Worth Report.

Hollie Plemons, the Fort Worth parent who obtained the leaked email, told The Dallas Express that the program removals represent a victory.

“This is a major win for children, parents, and taxpayers who will no longer be forced to fund their demise or fund political propaganda and true grifters,” Plemons said. “It makes me smile so big to think of the rainy day that these four organizations are having and the future rainy days to come. THIS is what I voted for.”

In July of 2024, as previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Fort Worth ISD board voted 6–1 to renew a $237,000 contract with the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance for continued programming in the district.

The Dallas Express reached out to Fort Worth ISD for comment but did not receive a response.