Critical Race Theory in ND Schools
HB 1508 was passed into law during the 67th Legislative Special Session in November 2021.
The prevailing narrative of racial grievance has been corrupting the education of American history and the humanities for many years, but has accelerated dangerously over the past few years. The most damaging effects of such instruction fall on young children who are either implicitly told that they are helpless victims with no power to shape their own futures or they are told they are oppressors simply because of the color of their skin. The tenets of Critical Race Theory are divisive and damaging and have no place in the education of our youth.
Teaching history through the single lens of race relations is a Marxist attempt to destabilize our country by creating social justice revolutionaries who possess a strong motivation to tear down our system of government. Not only that, but there are serious consequences of focusing so much of our energy on social issues while less than half of our students are proficient in reading, math, and science.
While the passing of House Bill 1508 is a positive step forward in protecting students from the radical and harmful ideology of Critical Race Theory, we must remain vigilant. Public schools across the state have implemented programs that utilize Social Emotional Learning (SEL) which is a tool that was developed by a Leftist nonprofit organization called the Collaborative for Academic and Social Emotional Learning (CASEL). The curriculum includes topics on emotions such as anger, greed, jealousy, pride, and guilt, and focuses on equity and diversity. SEL seeks to address 'various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.' SEL is a vehicle for the Marxist, poisonous and cult-like tenets of Critical Race Theory and Gender Theory. It is being used to shape students' opinions and behaviors to align with Leftist ideologies and policies. It is unclear at this time how HB 1508 will affect the various curricula that fall under Social Emotional Learning.
ACTION STEPS
Begin a discussion with local school board members regarding your concern about Social Emotional Learning tools. Advocate for the restoration of a non-political education for students and a return to the focus of imparting academic knowledge while encouraging students to simply do their best and behave with integrity.
Highlight the unfortunate truth that ND students' proficiency scores were dismal even before the pandemic began. We cannot justify diverting any time away from reading, writing, and math to focus on creating social justice warriors. We cannot continue to expect teachers to work outside the scope of their profession by monitoring and guiding students’ mental health.
Ask school board members’ stance on Critical Race and Gender Theories and what policies, if any, are in place to ensure students are protected from ideological indoctrination at school.
