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An underperforming California school district is dishing out nearly $300,000 to partner with a group to teach a rap-based curriculum to students, sparking “troubling” concerns, the Justice Department said.
The Merced City School District, one of the state’s lower-performing school districts, has signed a $270,000 contract with School Yard Rap, the New York Post reported.
The agreement includes a summer “Rap Camp” and an “African American Affinity Group,” which has raised questions about whether the partnership complies with federal law.
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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.
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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.”
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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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