The Attorneys General of twenty-one states, including our Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, responded to new federal education priorities on race that the Attorney Generals say appear to be a “thinly veiled attempt at bringing into our states’ classrooms the deeply flawed and controversial teachings of Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project. Critical Race Theory (“CRT”) is an ideological construct that analyzes and interprets American history and government primarily through the narrow prism of race. Similarly, the 1619 Project seeks to “reframe the country’s history.”
The Attorneys General say such programs distort our nation’s history and distorts our governmental institutions and, therefore, are fundamentally at odds with federal and state law
In their letter, the Attorneys General asked the U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to “not adopt the proposed rule or, at a minimum, make clear that grants may not fund projects that are based on CRT, including any projects that characterize the United States as irredeemably racist or founded on principles of racism (as opposed to principles of equality) or that purport to ascribe character traits, values, privileges, status, or beliefs, or that assign fault, blame, or bias, to a particular race or to an individual because of his or her race.”
Why are these Attorneys General involved in this issue? Because they are the chief legal officers of their states and they understand this divisive instruction is contrary to federal laws and state laws. Legislation passed by Congress was intended to help students understand our founding documents had nothing to do with these flawed concepts the radical left want taught.
Here is a link to their letter.
Meanwhile Arkansas passed Act 1100 by Senator Trent Garner to prohibit state agencies from teaching these divisive concepts to their employees, contractors, and other groups. The act was not broad enough to prohibit school districts from doing the same. Governor Asa Hutchinson crawfished and did not sign the bill, letting it become law without his signature.
For further information on Act 1100 see our article: Asa Sidesteps Offending Radical Left.
There is a danger that should the Biden administration make these teachings a requirement for receiving federal education aid that educators will jump through hoops to grab the money and agree to teach these flawed concepts to our children. Don’t think they would grab the money? We remind that educators adopted the controversial mess called “common core” because they wanted to grab the federal dollars.
We thank Attorney General Rutledge and the other twenty Attorneys General who stated their opposition to the Biden administration education priorities.
