Legislators slam diversity efforts in Kansas schools, label them as critical race theory
Conservative legislators assailed diversity efforts in Kansas school districts as tantamount to critical race theory, hearing from parents who termed the lesson plans and curriculum as "Marxism," a sign the issue is not going away ahead of the upcoming legislative session
The debate on critical race theory has raged for months, both nationally and in Kansas, but Wednesday marked the first time the subject has been directly addressed in a legislative hearing in the state.
The probe, launched by the Special Committee on Education, comes ahead of anticipated action on the issue when legislators return to Topeka for their annual legislative session in January, with multiple lawmakers already committing to ban CRT and related subjects from being taught in classrooms.
Scholars say critical race theory has been studied and used as an academic framework for decades and is defined as probing how racism has become embedded in societal and cultural structures. It is most commonly taught at the university level, generally in post-graduate classes.
The Kansas State Department of Education has denied CRT's presence in statewide curriculum or standards.
State Board of Education Member Ann Mah, D-Topeka, said the complaints of parents were legitimate but noted the term had been "co-opted to be an umbrella term for anything someone wants to complain about in public schools."
"You won’t find it anywhere in our state standards and you will not find it in our assessments," Mah said. "So it is a little difficult to find if it is impacting student achievement."
That response, however, did little to satisfy Republicans, who argued this was merely a point of semantics and said other initiatives, including diversity, equity and inclusion programming, were tantamount to critical race theory.
"I think we are a little bit tired of that academic definition," Rep. Kristey Williams, R-Augusta, who chairs the Special Committee on Education, said. "It does not mean that CRT application is not being used (in schools)."
Parents point to training, curriculum as evidence of critical race theory
Republican legislators and a parade of parents pointed to a series of examples which do not meet the academic definition of critical race theory but which they found objectionable nonetheless.
"I categorically reject and deny out of hand any tenant that my sons should be judged on the color of skin and not the content of their character," Rep. Patrick Penn, R-Wichita, said. "That is the problem I have with CRT. That is the problem Kansas should have with CRT and shame on anyone who doesn’t."
Multiple presenters pointed to a training and curriculum framework in Shawnee Mission Unified School District 512, called deep equity, which the district calls a way "to identify and remove barriers to achievement so that all students have the opportunity to reach their highest success.
The district said it was implemented in recent years after its own data showed certain student groups were not being adequately supported in the classroom.
The program includes staff training on areas such as "valuing diversity," being "culturally self-aware" and improving "knowledge of student culture." The end goal, the district says, is to "dismantle disparities through sustained, collaborative efforts to achieve systematic change."
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Denise Roberts, a SMSD parent, said this manifested itself in assignments focused on cultural and personal experiences, as well as students being pushed to walk out of class in support of Black Lives Matter and opposing gun violence. Other students were being scrutinized for their viewpoints in the classroom, she added.
"I suspect there are people who don’t agree with my worldview and i would not bring it into a public school classroom," Roberts said. "I ask the same respect from teachers and administrators."
Other efforts Penn objected to included trainings in Wichita Unified School District 259 focused on everything from "culturally relevant teaching" to "telling the truth about our nation’s racist path," something he compared to the 1619 Project, history curriculum developed highlighting the effects of slavery on American society and a frequent target of conservatives.
And Rep. Adam Thomas, R-Olathe, objected to a "gender unicorn" his daughter was given as an assignment to discuss gender identity, wondering "what they’re going to call that next, while we’re changing the names of certain ideologies here."
Parents focused on other content they believed should be excluded in schools, most notably books including sex and explicit language. Nationally, parents have pushed libraries and school districts to purge texts they view as problematic, sometimes against the opposition of students and teachers.
Across the U.S.: How critical race theory went from conservative battle cry to mainstream powder keg
Tamara James, whose child attends Blue Valley School District in Johnson County, said she found books in school libraries which condemned whiteness and included scenes depicting sex, rape and abduction.
And Sen. Renee Erickson, R-Wichita, pointed to a graphic novel found in Shawnee Heights Unified School District 450 showing a gay sex scene. A former teacher, Erickson said if she found the images on the computer of a colleague, she would have had that person reported for possessing child pornography.
"It is shameful," she said.
No proponents of diversity initiatives testified Wednesday. But Mah argued students were capable of engaging in the more nuanced discussions of history, even though "teaching accurate history is hard" and involved difficult moments.
"But learning about racism is not CRT and I think our students are smart enough to be able to handle those tough topics," she said. "I think we should work together to end CRT disputes and start using the real terms we are using in schools."
Legislators weigh if statewide policy response is warranted
In Kansas, at least three legislators have indicated they will introduce legislation limiting CRT from being taught in state schools, though it is unclear what the scope of those bills will look like.
Idaho became the first to formally pass a law banning CRT. The bill language prevents teaching that "individuals, by virtue of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin, are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin."
Variations on this legislation have been introduced in scores of states, including a bill in Texas banning any discussion of white privilege and white supremacy.
Williams said she supported letting the issues be addressed by school board across the state but acknowledged the "state legislature is sometimes the last stop gap when things are not being resolved at the local level."
"We are allowing that light to be shined on some of these issues," she told reporters. "And now the school boards could potentially take what they have seen and heard and decide, 'Do we need to address it?' So it's still in the local school boards domain, right now, we're just bringing it to them."
The debate comes after a slate of conservative local school board candidates, many of whom focused on critical race theory, were swept into power in elections last month, a trend stretching from Wichita to Olathe.
Mark Tallman, a lobbyist with the Kansas Association of School Boards, noted that fact and said the conversation could shift at the local level because of those results.
"Local districts are looking at it, they are paying attention and they may be making changes," Tallman said. "What needs to be fixed? We always have challenges with public education, always have, always will. And so it is constantly a matter of trying to say how we do better ... The question is how much of that will we be able to do or required to do locally and how much of it is the state coming in and saying 'We don't trust what you're doing' or 'We're not sure that's the right thing' and here's a new guideline you're going to have to follow."
The story has been updated to clarify Shawnee Mission School District's programming and attribute remarks about the school district to Denise Roberts. A previous version attributed them to another presenter.
Andrew Bahl is a senior statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at abahl@gannett.com or by phone at 443-979-6100.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Critical race theory debate rages in Kansas legislative committee
