A North Carolina school board passed strict rules Friday against teaching so-called Critical Race Theory (CRT) in its classrooms. Teachers who run afoul of the new policy in Johnston County public schools could face discipline up to and including termination.
The Johnston County Board of Education was acting under the threat of having $7.9 million in funding withheld by the GOP-led Johnston County Board of Commissioners if they did not codify language that prohibits teaching that America was founded on racism. The Board of Education denied that CRT was being taught in its schools.
While CRT is not mentioned specifically in the new policy, it does insist that students and staff members not be subjected to any theory that suggests that racism is an inherent part of the American experience — a primary tenet of CRT.
The Board of Education voted unanimously — with one absence — to engage the new policy.
The new policy states:
Racism causes damage to individuals and the community. When racism is present, it creates a lack of trust and respect. No student or staff member shall be subjected to the notion that racism is a permanent component of American life. No unequal value shall be placed on any race, gender, religion, ethnicity, social class, or any other identity group.
The new policy seeks to protect America’s founders and its founding documents from slander and incorrect interpretations:
All people deserve full credit and recognition for their struggles and accomplishments throughout United States history. The United States foundational documents shall not be undermined. No employee of Johnston County Schools will make any attempt to discredit the efforts made by all people using foundational documents for reform.
And worst of all for CRT enthusiasts, the new policy bans the teaching of fictional accounts like the 1619 Project — the New York Times produced fantasy curriculum that claims that America’s true founding was in 1619 when slaves were first brought here, rather than 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was issued.
“No fictional accounts or narratives shall be used to invalidate actual objective historical events. All people who contributed to American Society will be recognized and presented as reformists, innovators and heroes to our culture,” the new policy states.
The penalties for failure to follow the new policy were revealed as well: “Failure to comply with this policy will result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.”
“When we all work together we can accomplish good things for kids, and this is one of those moments I truly believe has happened,” school-board vice chairwoman Terri Sessoms said at Friday’s virtual meeting.
The new policy was lauded by Citizen Advocates for Accountable Government, a group founded by two Johnston County residents who said that the new policy would “prohibit the implementing of divisive principles of Critical Race Theory in the classroom.”
“The approach used stands as an example of how diverse voices can work together for the betterment of the Students in our Public Schools,” said Dale Lands, the one of the group’s founder.
Certain teachers were less enthused about the new policy. April Lee, the president of the Johnston County Association of Educators and an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Four Oaks Middle School, claimed that the Board of Education was “selling our souls to the devil for $7.9 million.”
“It’s basically extortion,” Lee said. “They’re holding money hostage until they get a policy that is extreme enough for them to approve. We should all be angry about that.”
In August, Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson (R) released a report that suggested that some teachers in the state were using their positions to indoctrinate students rather than inform them.
“What this is, is an attempt to stop the abuse of the teaching profession by a few who are using that profession to put undue pressure on young minds,” Robinson said. “Those are the folks that are abusing that privilege, and that is what this is about, about ending that.”
Robinson and other Republicans are pushing for state legislation that would not necessarily ban Critical Race Theory from being taught or discussed, but would instead bar schools from “promoting” concepts such as: one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex; an individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive; and the U.S. government should be violently overthrown.
