Colorado Schools Mislead the Public About Teaching Critical Race Theory

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Administrators of the Jefferson County school district, the second largest in the state of Colorado, have publicly insisted that they are not teaching CRT in the district’s schools. But material found on the district’s website and elsewhere contradicts this narrative.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become a hot topic in school districts across the nation. Instead of promoting a colorblind society, CRT teaches students that the world can be divided along racial lines into oppressors and victims and that racism has infiltrated every aspect of our society and its institutions.

Matt Flores, chief academic officer at Jefferson County Schools, was recently cited in the Denver Post as stating that Jeffco Schools do not teach CRT, nor do they teach the precepts of the 1619 Project, a project of The New York Times which seeks to place slavery at the center of American history. The 1619 project has been widely criticized and debunked as ahistorical propaganda.

According to district regulations, Jefferson County teachers who want to present controversial topics in the classroom must first receive permission from the district and must also notify parents beforehand. Controversial materials are defined as “materials that are likely to divide the community along racial, ethnic, or religious lines.” Recent reports cast doubt on whether teachers and administrators are following these mandates.

Barbara Paden, the mother of two children who attend Jefferson County schools, was outraged when her daughter’s assignment about women’s suffrage was rejected by her teacher. Interviewed by the Denver Post, Paden explained that her daughter wrote about an “18th-century women’s rights advocate in France who was beheaded.” Instead of lauding the student for her initiative, her mother explained, the teacher gave her a zero on the assignment and recommended that she “focus on the suppression of Black women’s vote in the 20th century.”

While the Jefferson County School District claims not to promote CRT, this statement is directly contradicted by...

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