Montgomery County Public Schools requires staff to complete “Bridging Implicit Bias to Racism” and “Fundamentals of Restorative Justice” training

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has explicitly endorsed Critical Race Theory (CRT) since before 2013. MCPS has promoted events with keynote speakers and panelists that support CRT implementation in MCPS schools. Culturally Responsive Training has been used as part of its professional development opportunities for teachers and administrator as recently as 2018 in courses such as Operationalizing Equity 102.

For the 2021-22 school-year, all MCPS staff are required to complete the training “Bridging Implicit Bias to Racism.” Unlike curriculum, professional development on how to effectively introduce a belief system or practice into a classroom is not shared or vetted by parents before it is implemented. Using this approach, the curriculum does not need to change since teachers have been “trained” in how to imbed the tenets of CRT into how they deliver the curriculum content. For example, any discussion of voter laws will be viewed through the lens of systemic racism.  A few screen shots from the training are below and the Ibram X. Kendi video is here.

In addition to the “Bridging” training, all teachers and administrators, approximately 13,000 employees, are also required to complete “Fundamentals of Restorative Justice.” The training references books on restorative justice and abolitionist teaching (ABAR):