Conservative coalition calls on governments to end critical race theory in educational institutions

Concerned groups and institutions have gotten together to issue a joint statement and work together to end the teaching of critical race theory in classrooms across the nation, without limiting free discussion in the classroom in any way.

Chris Rufo, a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute, wrote on Twitter, "The conservative movement has united behind a new education agenda: stop critical race theory in schools, provide curriculum transparency for parents, and give families the freedom to choose their own destiny. This is the way forward for education policy in America."

Rufo continues, "Under the leadership of @Reihan Salam, Manhattan Institute has led the fight against critical race theory in schools. We've done ground-breaking reporting and my colleague @JamesRCopland has written the gold standard for anti-CRT public policy."

"We've also recently released [a] new model for curriculum transparency. We believe that parents have a fundamental right to know what's being taught to their children—and that schools have a responsibility to make materials easily accessible."

The above-referenced document makes it clear that state-level legislations should not "stifle the marketplace of ideas," "Proscribe or discourage classroom discussion of race and racism," or "Condition curricul[a] on individual student 'discomfort' or 'distress.'"

The Heritage foundation has also posted a copy of the joint statement by various members of the coalition on their website.

The statement discusses exactly what types of legislations should be pasted by state legislative bodies in order to keep education transparent and free from indoctrination. There are seven key points outlined in the statement, which are as follows:

1. No teacher or student should be compelled to affirm, believe, profess, or adhere to any idea that violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
2. No course of instruction or unit of study may direct or otherwise compel students to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to any idea that violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.⁵
3. No school shall contract for teacher professional development with providers who promote racially essentialist doctrines and practices that have been held to violate the Civil Rights Act.
4. A private individual may bring a right of action against any public institution engaged in racial discrimination.
5. Public school officials should give all members of the public comprehensive access in-person and online to school curricular materials including syllabi, lists of textbooks, and teacher-created assignments and books, worksheets, along with content that educators use for teacher professional development training sessions. Parents should be able to see, at-a-glance online, what their children are being taught. State officials should bolster their sunshine laws to stop school districts from stonewalling parents’ public records requests.
6. Public school board elections should be held on-cycle—in the same years and at the same time as the election for the highest office in a given state. When school board elections are held with general elections, school board members more closely reflect the preferences of their constituents.
7. Provide every K-12 student and their family with the ability to choose how and where a child learns. Policymakers should empower families with the ability to choose a new public or private school for their child or to customize their child’s education with an education savings account.

The statement is signed by the above-mentioned Rufo, and also by representatives of all the other participating organizations, which are:

• The Heritage Foundation
• Heritage Action for America
• The Goldwater Institute
• The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights under Law
• The Claremont Institute
• Parents Defending Education
• Independent Women's Voice