Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said he’s joining 20 other attorneys general and urging the Biden Administration to reconsider proposals that would impose the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the 1619 Project in America’s classrooms.
This, according to a press release that Carr published this week.
U.S. Department of Education officials have woven such goals into a proposed rule that establishes priorities for grants in American history and civics education programs.
“I believe in history by addition, not history by revision,” Carr said.
“This newly proposed rule would impose the flawed, radical teachings of Critical Race Theory in Georgia’s schools. It must be rejected.”
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, state attorneys general urge department officials to review directives for teaching “traditional American history” as prescribed in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015.
“Congress made clear that the purpose of the (ESSA) programs is to advance a traditional understanding of American history, civics, and government,” the letter states.
“The proposed priorities would do little to advance that goal.”
The press release, quoting The Wall Street Journal, described the ESSA as the “largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter century.”
Carr said in the press release that the legislation gave authority back to parents, teachers, and local communities to decide education policy.
“The coalition believes the newly-proposed priorities do the opposite, and they should be rejected,” Carr’s press release said.
“At the very least, the coalition says the department should make it clear that it will not fund projects that promote CRT or any projects that characterize the United States as irredeemably racist or founded on principles of racism as opposed to principles of equality.”
Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Montana, among others, also joined in this effort, the press release said.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
