Dear Colleagues:
Parent pushback <[link removed]> against the implementation of Critical
Race Theory (CRT) and its discrimination in the K-12 classroom continues to gain momentum. Former President Donald Trump also weighed-in against Critical Race Theory this week, Mike Gonzalez, Jonathan Butcher, and I note in a statement <[link removed]>. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law three bills on Tuesday that would provide positive civics-oriented alternatives to CRT, while also making sure public schools teach the evils of communism, notes Jarrett
Stepman <[link removed]>. And this insightful piece from the American Enterprise Institute’s Robert Pondiscio is worth a read: Critical Race Theory is the New Technocracy <[link removed]>.
Here’s What Else We’ve Been Working On


- Jonathan Butcher says <[link removed]> Rep. Glenn Grothman's (R-Wisc.) proposal to reject critical race theory in Washington, D.C. schools is not only appropriate but necessary. Writing in the Daily Signal <[link removed]>, Jonathan explains that the proposal blocks compelled speech and prevents educators from requiring other teachers or students from having to affirm that someone should receive benefits or sanctions
based on his or her skin color. 

And Washington, D.C. public schools are under federal jurisdiction--so if District of Columbia Public School officials suggest <[link removed]> teachers
count the different races of the authors of textbooks in District classrooms, Members of Congress should be saying that is racially discriminatory and inappropriate. How could the race or ethnicity of an author matter more for student success than the effectiveness of a lesson or the accuracy of a textbook? Read the whole article here <[link removed]>.


I had a chance to sit down with America’s Voice Live to discuss parent and teacher opinions of CRT and civics education broadly.
- Our Center for Education Policy team partnered with Heritage Foundation specialists in constitutional law and critical race theory to draft a model proposal <[link removed]> for state lawmakers considering ways to protect children from critical race theory's discriminatory ideas in K-12 classrooms.


- The proposal says "no public education employee shall compel a teacher or student to discuss public policy issues of the day without his or her consent" and "no public education employee shall compel a teacher or student to
adopt, affirm, adhere to, or profess ideas in violation of Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." The proposal has other ideas that deal with compelled speech in teacher diversity training programs and suggests that state officials could withhold funding from schools that violate the Civil Rights Act. You can view the proposal here <[link removed]>.


- Jonathan appeared on NewsNation's Donlon Report <[link removed]> to discuss the significance of Juneteenth, a new federal holiday. Jonathan explained that the recognition of this day demonstrates why America is unique--that our national promise is one that overcomes the failures in our national past to live up to our ideals. Juneteenth is both a representation of the need to understand American history while also celebrating our ideals of equality under the law, freedom, and opportunity, regardless of color or national origin. Watch the clip here <[link removed]>.
- Jonathan also spoke to the Daily Caller this week about the ways in which critical race theory's racial discrimination can be found in school curriculum. “School systems are teaching material that affirms Critical Race Theory’s main ideas when they recommend teachers ‘decolonize’ their curriculum by counting the races of different textbook authors,” I said to the Daily Caller News Foundation <[link removed]>. 


Interested in joining our team? Apply <[link removed]> to be our new Research Associate and Project Coordinator!
Warmly,

Lindsey Burke,
Director
Center for Education Policy
Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity
The Heritage Foundation

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