Red state suing school district for illegally teaching critical race theory

EXCLUSIVE – The State of Texas, led by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, a vocal Trump ally, is suing a school district just northwest of Dallas for allegedly illegally continuing to teach critical race theory in its classrooms.

Critical race theory – also known by its acronym “CRT” – is a concept that teaches racial bias is inherent in parts of society and that discrimination is systematically embedded in certain aspects of law and policy.

Paxton’s office said that the suit was launched in response to a video showing Coppell Independent School District Director of Curriculum Evan Whitfield discussing how the district had “gotten around” prohibitions on the use of CRT in state policies and curricula.

According to the suit, which was filed today in the District Court of Dallas County, Whitfield further stated that “despite what our state standards say,” Coppell ISD does “what’s right.”

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Teaching CRT violates a Texas law that prohibits educators from kindergarten through twelfth grade from teaching that “one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex” or that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive.”

The same law also stipulates that no educator in the state can require an understanding of the “1619 Project,” a historical study founded by New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones that attempts to reframe American history as being founded and rooted in slavery. The project has been marred with credible accusations of historical distortions and inaccuracies.

Texas law stipulates that an educator cannot teach that any person, because of their race or sex, bears responsibility, blame, or guilt for actions committed in the past. 

The law also prohibits teachers from imposing the idea that meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist or that the advent of slavery in America constituted the true founding of the United States, concepts commonly associated with the 1619 Project.

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According to the suit, Whitfield “unequivocally stated that the policy of Coppell Independent School District is to teach curricula in violation of state law and direction, using funds and other resources of the district to develop and distribute for teaching CRT curricula.”

The suit further alleges that Whitfield responded to a question on whether the district would be in trouble for violating the law by saying, “We’ve gotten around it by saying we’re not teaching it.”

The lawsuit alleges that “when asked if the teacher can just close the door and teach ‘what’s right,’ Defendant Whitfield responded, ‘Shh, that’s what we do.’”

Paxton is seeking to have the court issue a permanent injunction keeping Coppell ISD officials from teaching CRT and using tax dollar funds to distribute CRT materials. Instead, Paxton says Coppell ISD must implement a “color blind” curriculum in line with Texas law.  

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This is not the first time Coppell ISD has been sued for illegally teaching CRT.

The Texas Scorecard, a Texas-based conservative outlet, reported in 2023 that a North Texas family sued Coppell ISD after their 10th-grade son who was a student at New Tech High School in Coppell ISD, was given a CRT-based assignment by his chemistry teacher. According to the Texas Scorecard the teacher stipulated that students “research and write about diverse atomic theory scientists” and they could not choose an “old, dead, white guy.”

Commenting on his lawsuit, Paxton said that “Texas children deserve to receive the best education in the world, not have woke ideology forced upon them.”

“Liberal administrators who want to ignore state law and unlawfully push divisive and racist CRT curriculum in classrooms will be held responsible for their actions,” said Paxton. “My lawsuit aims to put an immediate end to this illegal and hateful curriculum and immediately stop the blatant refusal to follow state law by certain officials at Coppell ISD.”