What is implicit bias training? It may be coming to the Manatee County School District

Stereotypes can lead to higher jail sentences in a courtroom, poor hiring decisions in the workplace and a lacking education in schools.

People judge others for their age, gender, appearance, disability or sexual orientation. “Implicit bias” lives in everyone, without their knowledge, and it can have serious repercussions, according to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.

“Having biases doesn’t make you a bad person — it only makes you human. Fortunately, our implicit biases are not permanent; they can be changed,” the organization reported.

Equality is at the forefront of conversations throughout the world, after the recent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the School Board of Manatee County addressed implicit bias during its meeting on Thursday morning.

Charlie Kennedy, the board’s vice chair, recommended that all district employees receive implicit bias training in the new school year. Even with the best of intentions, adults might accidentally shortchange their students, he said, posing a hypothetical situation.

“Well, you know, little Jimmy lives in East Bradenton and he’s had a tough life so I’m not going to expect as much from him because he’s had a tough time growing up,” Kennedy said. “That’s just one example of implicit bias.”

Board member Scott Hopes largely agreed, but he felt the training should be held quarterly, not just once a year. He also suggested that board members take the course.

“I really want to thank Mr. Kennedy for bringing this up, because implicit bias is an extremely important perception and behavior that should always be addressed and researched,” Hopes said.

Everyone has implicit biases, even those who make a commitment to being impartial, such as judges. While they may be subconscious, the assumptions can have a serious impact on people’s lives, according to the Kirwan Institute.

“Other research explored the connection between criminal sentencing and Afrocentric features bias, which refers to the generally negative judgments and beliefs that many people hold regarding individuals who possess Afrocentric features such as dark skin, a wide nose, and full lips,” it reported.

“Researchers found that when controlling for numerous factors (e.g., seriousness of the primary offense, number of prior offenses, etc.), individuals with the most prominent Afrocentric features received longer sentences than their less Afrocentrically featured counterparts.”

And according to the Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, implicit bias extends beyond appearances.

“Instructors may expect students who speak with certain accents to be poor writers,” the center reported.

“Instructors might treat students with physical disabilities as if they may also have mental disabilities, and thus require more attention,” it continued.

Gina Messenger, the board chair, said she supported implicit bias training in the district. Board member James Golden seemed less convinced, and board member Dave Miner offered no input.

“The idea of implicit bias is probably about as valuable as the idea of ghosts,” said Golden, the board’s only black member. “What we have here is the sum total of our individual experiences and where we have come from.”

“I think we show our commitment to overcoming our own biases by the votes we take,” he continued.

With a majority of the board members voicing their support, Superintendent Cynthia Saunders offered a recommendation: work the needed actions into Manatee’s strategic plan.

Board members are expected to review the district’s plan — now in draft form — on July 9. The draft includes a section on diversity, and Kevin Chapman, the director of strategic planning, read from the document on Thursday morning.

He said the district aimed to celebrate different cultures, to hire a more diverse workforce and to offer equity and inclusion training for all district employees.

“I think everything that’s in the plan is an enormous step in the right direction,” Kennedy responded. “We’ve been talking about these things for at least a couple years. Now they’re laid out as goals, set in the strategic plan. But I specifically want the district — and I hope I have the board’s support — to target our employees’ internal biases.”

This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.