One of President Biden’s first acts in office was to sign an executive order calling for “an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda.” As part of that agenda, on April 19, 2021, the Biden administration’s Department of Education proposed a new rule that would favor public K-12 schools that promote Critical Race Theory, the 1619 Project, and the work of “antiracist” activist Ibram X. Kendi for public grants. The rule’s text repeatedly accuses America of “systemic racism.” Here’s what you need to know:
The rule proposes a new priority for grant applications called “Projects That Incorporate Racially, Ethnically, Culturally, and Linguistically Diverse Perspectives into Teaching and Learning.” Among other things, applicants would have to describe how their schools will “Take into account systemic marginalization, biases, inequities, and discriminatory policy and practice in American history.”
This language is code for Critical Race Theory and other extreme curricula that replace history and civics with identity politics, an obsession with race and ethnicity, politicized teaching, and attacks on America’s morality.
The proposed rule praises the New York Times’ widely discredited 1619 Project as a “landmark” that should be brought into the classroom. It also encourages teaching Kendi’s toxic theories in schools across the country, work that encourages racial discrimination. “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination,” he says.
The new rule would send money through the Department of Education’s American History and Civics Education programs. These federal grants use taxpayer money to fund projects that teach students about U.S. history, government, the Constitution, and civics. The rule’s starting budget is small, but it would set a precedent for a much larger program that would spend $1 billion a year, for six years, on history and civics education.
We must act now to oppose this new rule.
The deadline for public comment is May 19, 2021.
