Texas AG Ken Paxton suing Coppell ISD over allegedly teaching critical race theory
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Coppell Independent School District officials for allegedly "illegally teaching critical race theory," his office announced Wednesday.
According to the Attorney General's Office, the lawsuit was filed after a video allegedly showed the district's director of curriculum and instruction, Evan Whitfield, having a conversation on how the district had "gotten around" bans on the use of critical race theory in state policies and curriculum "by saying we're not teaching [CRT]."
The AG's Office claimed that Whitfield further discussed how, despite what the state mandates, Coppell ISD does "what's right."
What is critical race theory?
Critical race theory is an academic and legal framework that examines how race and racism intersect with laws, policies, and institutions. It originated in the 1970s and 1980s among legal scholars who argued that racism is not just a matter of individual bias but is embedded in legal systems and societal structures, Daniel HoSang, professor of ethnicity, race and migration and American studies at Yale University, told the Texas Tribune in 2021.
"These scholars and writers are asking, 'why is it that racial inequality endures and persists, even decades after these laws have passed?'" HoSang said. "Why is racism still enduring? And how do we contribute to abolishing it?"
In the video, Whitfield was asked if a teacher could close the door and teach "what's right." Whitfield's responded, "Shh, that's what we do," the AG's Office said.
Whitfield also allegedly boasted about using "Next General Science Standards" curriculum, which isn't approved by the State Board of Education. Textbooks with similar approaches to "environmental education" have also been rejected by the board.
"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," Paxton said in a statement. "Texas children deserve to receive the best education in the world, not have woke ideology forced upon them. 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."
CBS Texas reached out to Coppell ISD for comment, but a district spokesperson said they won't be responding until the district returns from spring break next week.
President Trump takes aim at critical race theory in schools
In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order for U.S. schools to stop teaching what he views as "critical race theory" and other material dealing with race and sexuality or risk losing their federal money.
Trump called critical race theory an "inherently racist policy."
The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights investigates allegations of civil rights violations and can impose sanctions up to a total loss of federal money, though that penalty has almost never been used and must be approved by a judge.
