Berkeley Unified School District will explore the possibility of giving reparations to black students if they can prove they descended from slaves. This idea, like California’s and San Francisco’s expensive reparations proposals, is flawed and should be rejected.

“It is time to explore enacting and implement[ing] a program of true reparations for BUSD students with ancestors who were enslaved in the U.S.,” the school district’s task force website says . The district serves pre-K through 12th grade.

According to EdSource , about 10% of the school district’s students are black, although it is unknown how many descended from slaves. Giving money to only some black students will create animosity between not only black students but all students.

Let’s say the school district picks a relatively low number for reparations compared to San Francisco’s $5 million per person amount. The reparations task force cites what it says is a successful initiative in Evanston, Illinois , which offers $25,000 direct cash payments. An amount of even $25,000 will create jealousy and animosity among high schoolers.

Imagine you are a black student who is not eligible for reparations and your fellow black peer pulls up to school in the new car he bought with his payment. What did he do to earn this money? He did not work hard over the summer or start his own business; instead, 200 years ago, some ancestor he never met was enslaved.

Now imagine you are a white, Hispanic, or Asian student who is not eligible for the reparations. Maybe your ancestors worked long hours to build the railroads, were interned during World War II, or suffered from harsh working conditions or racial discrimination. Where is your money?

Reparations advance the flawed idea that people today are owed money for harms done to their ancestors years ago. It is a logical extension of “ white privilege ” and other progressive ideas that propose people are responsible for the sins of either their biological forefathers or just people who shared the same skin color.

They are also a convenient excuse for policymakers and their flawed ideas. Here is what the Reparations Task Force uses as a justification for exploring payments. The effects of slavery and racial inequalities have “manifested in a multitude of ways, including in race-based policies such as school segregation and redlining but also in the form of differences in literacy rates and home ownership.”

This is a convenient excuse for policymakers and community leaders. It is not the fault of the education system that black students have lower literacy rates; just blame a 19th-century Alabama slave owner, they argue. Furthermore, do not look to current zoning regulations or money management habits for low homeownership rates; instead, look to past racial injustices to blame for today’s problems.

Reparations are flawed because they create jealousy between the recipients and nonrecipients. They should be rejected by citizens because they act as a scapegoat for policymakers and the school district for not creating a system in which people can thrive while also removing personal responsibility for low literacy rates and homeownership.

Black Berkeley students can be supported with tutoring, school choice , and other remedies to help them thrive. That should not include cash payments.

Matt Lamb is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is an associate editor for the College Fix and has previously worked for Students for Life of America and Turning Point USA.