WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Education appears to be walking back plans to prioritize grant funding for programs that include tenets of critical race theory and encourage discrimination based on racial identities. The Heritage Foundation’s Lindsey Burke, director for the Center for Education Policy, Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum senior fellow Mike Gonzalez, and Will Skillman fellow in education Jonathan Butcher—who jointly submitted an official comment to the Federal Register lambasting the proposed rule—released the following statement:
“This move is a victory for those who oppose children being taught to discriminate. We welcome especially the fact the writings of Ibram X. Kendi, a well-known practitioner of critical race theory, were dropped from the rule. The fact that the Education Department was overwhelmed by the volume of comments on this proposed rule is more evidence that many parents, and Americans in general, don’t want critical race theory infused in public school curricula.”
“This proposed rule would have pushed teachers to treat students differently based on skin color. The department should not fund programs that teach children that anyone should be judged, stereotyped, or denounced based on their skin color or origin of ethnicity, as critical race theory does.”
“Even encouraging grant applications to teach revisionist views of American history, which are already contested by renowned historians across the political spectrum, does a disservice to parents and students. Parents should carefully look at proposed projects in public schools that adhere to the principles of critical race theory, while masquerading as lessons that incorporate ‘racially, ethnically, culturally or linguistically diverse perspectives.’
“Americans must remain on guard. While this does look like the Biden administration is trying to find a face-saving way to reverse course, it is well known that this administration is deeply committed to critical race theory. President Biden’s very first act was to sign an executive order committing all corners of his administration to racial-conscious policies, contravening the letter and spirit of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
According to press reports, the department received more than 35,000 public comments on the proposed rule. Heritage Action for America, an independent partner organization affiliated with The Heritage Foundation, encouraged its grassroots supporters to submit comments. Heritage Action has developed a “Reject Critical Race Theory” e-book, which includes resources to help individuals fight critical race theory in their communities.
Gonzalez and Butcher will speak about critical race theory at a Heritage Action event in Dallas, Texas, on July 24, and again in Georgetown, Delaware, on July 29.
Find more research and resources from Heritage on critical race theory at heritage.org/crt.
