A federal judge has ruled that the state of Arkansas cannot prevent two high school teachers from discussing critical race theory in their classrooms, but does not allow the state to ban “indoctrination” in public schools. It has not resulted in widespread prevention.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky on Tuesday night issued a narrow preliminary injunction against the ban, which was adopted under education reforms signed last year by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. This is one of several changes.
Arkansas Department of Education challenges CRT, demands public schools hand over materials
The ban is being challenged by two teachers and two students from Little Rock Central High School, the site of the 1957 desegregation crisis.
In his 50-page ruling, Rudofsky wrote that the state’s argument is that the law does not “completely prevent classroom instruction that teaches, uses, or references theories, ideas, or ideologies.” He said that he has made it clear.
His ruling applies to teachers who teach, refer to, or discuss critical race theory, an academic framework dating back to the 1970s that centers on the idea that racism is embedded in the nation’s systems. It was prohibited for the state to discipline. The theory is not entrenched in K-12 education, and the Arkansas ban does not define what constitutes critical race theory.
Rudofsky said that although the decision was close, Section 16 does not prohibit teachers from teaching, using or referring to critical race theory or other theories or ideologies. “This should provide peace of mind to teachers (and students) across the state.” , or ideas, unless teachers force students to accept such theories, ideologies, and ideas as valid. ”
Rudofsky said the decision still prevents teachers from taking measures such as grading students based on whether they accept or reject a theory or giving students preferential treatment based on whether they accept or reject a theory. Stated.
Students head to Little Rock Central High School on Monday, August 24, 2020, for the first day of classes in the Little Rock School District. On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, a federal judge ruled that the state of Arkansas cannot prevent two high school teachers from discussing critical race theory in their classrooms, but prohibits the state from “indoctrination” in public schools. The court ruled that this did not amount to a broader deterrent. The ban is being challenged by two teachers and two students from Little Rock Central High School, the site of the 1957 desegregation crisis. (Tommy Messe/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, via AP)
Lawyers for the state and teachers both billed the ruling as the first victory in ongoing litigation over the law.
“We are very pleased that the court recognized that the plaintiffs raised a color-coded constitutional argument,” said attorney Mike Roos, who represents the teachers and students who filed the lawsuit. “With this in mind, I look forward to prosecuting this very important case.”
David Hinojosa, director of the Educational Opportunity Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and an attorney representing plaintiffs in the case, said the ruling “essentially watered down Arkansas’ classroom censorship law. “and effectively rendered the law meaningless.”
Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin said the ruling “just prohibits the state of Arkansas from doing something it wasn’t doing in the first place.”
“Today’s decision confirms what I have always said: Arkansas law does not prohibit teaching the history of racism, the civil rights movement, and slavery,” Griffin said in a statement. said.
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The lawsuit stems from the state’s decision that Advanced Placement courses in African American studies will not count as state credit during the 2023-2024 academic year. Teachers’ lawsuits argue that the state’s ban is so vague that they must self-censor what they teach to avoid violations.
Arkansas is among the Republican-led states that have placed restrictions on how race is taught in classrooms, including banning critical race theory. Educators in Tennessee filed a similar lawsuit last year challenging the state’s blanket ban on teaching certain concepts about race, gender and bias in classrooms.
