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$1,000,000 earmarked for FSU’s legal battles against College Football Playoff vs. classroom censorship
Just imagine what $1,000,000 could do in Florida’s real classroom battle instead of DeSantis earmarking it for FSU potential legal fees battling the behemoth known as the College Football Playoff.
Even though it’s less than a minute drop in the bucket, imagine putting the money toward battling something that really matters – the undermining illnesses of classroom censorship.
So many individuals and organizations have stepped up to eradicate this disease with no luck and have burned out trying. But unlike other disorders, the immediate AND long-term effects of this will last a lifetime. So, who is left to save the day?
PUTTING ON THE CAPE
The ACLU is leading the fight to end classroom censorship and protect students’ learning rights. They filed the first case in the country to challenge a law that censored instruction about systemic sexism and racism in Oklahoma, survived a motion to dismiss in New Hampshire, and obtained an injunction to block the State of Florida from enforcing the higher education provisions of the Stop WOKE Act.
Anyone who cares about students knows that the threat these laws pose to society is terrifying. Conservative politicians pushing these bills are advocating for nothing less than a re-whitewashing of history.
If these revisionist efforts are successful, the next generation will be compelled to believe a version of history manufactured to fit the so-called patriotic views of a vocal, discriminatory minority.
Students will not be taught, and may never learn, to trace the deliberate impact of historic oppression on institutions today. This will reinforce the salience of racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia as unavoidable and prevent the next generation from achieving justice.
Efforts to silence discussions about race also invalidate the lived experiences of BIPOC students. Instruction about racism and sexism belongs in schools because it equips students to process the world around them and to live in a multicultural society.
Two years into this fight, a few lessons stand out:
THE CLASSROOM CENSORSHIP MOVEMENT IS GROWING
The push for classroom censorship ignited as a backlash to progress toward racial justice following the unprecedented protests in 2020 sparked by the murder of George Floyd. To curtail efforts to expand instruction and materials about racial justice and our discriminatory history, 45 states introduced bills to limit instruction about racism and sexism.
These bills, essentially education gag orders, passed in 17 states. By January 2022, 35 percent of all primary and secondary (K-12) students, or 17.7 million students, attended school in districts that experienced some form of a local campaign to end Critical Race Theory. Almost 700 efforts to exclude CRT have been identified at the local, State, and federal levels. Last year, nearly 40 percent of classroom censorship bills targeted higher education.
THE CLASSROOM CENSORSHIP CAMPAIGN IS DRIVEN BY A VOCAL MINORITY
In a 2022 study, 87 percent of parents agreed that “lessons about the history of racism prepare children to build a better future for everyone as opposed to feeling that lessons about racism are harmful to children.”
Another study from 2021 found that more than 70 percent of Americans agreed that high schools should teach the impacts of slavery (78 percent) and racism (73 percent).
CRITICAL RACE THEORY IS NOT ALL THAT’S UNDER ATTACK
Initially, conservatives called for excluding CRT but excluded so much more. All forms of race-conscious instruction have been erased from classrooms despite their documented benefits for students.
This includes instruction about racism and discrimination (distinct from Critical Race Theory) and culturally relevant teaching techniques designed to build upon students’ experiences.
Additionally, conservatives banned books — like “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and “And Tango Makes Three” — and classroom instruction that highlights the experiences of LGBTQ+ people or the impact of sexism.
Educators report that they have restricted classroom discussions, curriculum, or content due to the laws, despite a desire from students to learn about censored topics. They described a culture of fear and intimidation in schools, marked by constant surveillance, scrutiny, and second-guessing.
UNPRECEDENTED EFFORTS TO CONTROL AND ULTIMATELY REWRITE HISTORY ARE UNDERWAY
Following Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, which prohibits instruction on systemic racism and sexism, the Florida State Board of Education introduced insane African-American history standards that rewrite and whitewash history.
Additional outrage occurred when standards required teachers to instruct students that enslaved people “developed skills that could be used for their benefit, blame enslaved people for violence during massacres, and misrepresent the role of the Founding Fathers in perpetuating slavery.”
Judge Mark Walker, who heard the case in the Northern District of Florida, accurately described the Stop WOKE Act as “positively dystopian” because it limits instruction to the viewpoints approved by the State, regardless of the truth.
Now, if we can only get Judge Walker to snag the massive amount of money for FSU’s battle against the CFP and use it against what will soon be a purely bankrupt view of American History.
This column is by Ritchie Lucas, Founder/CEO of the non-profit The Student Success Project. He can be reached by email at ritchie@studentsuccessproject.org and on Facebook as The Student Success Project.
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