Comment The Oklahoma State Board of Education voted this week to downgrade the accreditation of Tulsa Public Schools after a teacher reportedly complained that the school district’s teaching materials “sham white people.” The board voted 4-2 to downgrade Tulsa Public Schools’ status to “accredited with warning” Thursday after the State Department of Education found that an indirect bias training for teachers in August 2021 violated House Bill 1775 . The law, which limits discussions of race and gender in public schools, is widely seen as targeting critical race theory. The state investigation began after an undisclosed complaint from a teacher, according to the Oklahoman. The board also downgraded another district, Mustang Public Schools near Oklahoma City, to “accredited with warning” after it said a teacher violated Assembly Act 1775 by using a drill that made students feel uncomfortable because of their race or gender . The demotions mark the first executive action under the law, which Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed in May 2021, The Oklahoman reported. All four members who voted to downgrade the districts were appointed by Stitt. The law does not specifically mention critical race theory — an academic framework for examining how laws and policies perpetuate systemic racism — but prohibits the teaching of what it calls “discriminatory principles,” including that “a person , because of his race or gender, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, either consciously or unconsciously.” The measure came amid Republican efforts to ban teaching about systemic racism and oppression in schools after the nation’s 2020 racial census, which opponents say leads to self-censorship and fear among teachers. The American Civil Liberties Union sued Oklahoma over the law in October, claiming it violates the First and 14th Amendment rights of students and teachers. What is critical race theory and why do Republicans want to ban it from schools? Representatives for the Tulsa and Mustang school districts did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday. In a statement to The Oklahoman, Tulsa Public Schools denied that the training stated that people of a particular race were inherently racist, saying it would “never support such training,” but the system defended the need for implicit bias. “In Tulsa, we teach our children an accurate — and sometimes painful, difficult and uncomfortable — story about our shared human experience,” the district told the newspaper. “We also teach in a very diverse community, and we need our team to work together to be prepared to do it well.” Charles Bradley, the superintendent of Mustang Public Schools, said in a statement released to News 9 that he was “shocked” by the board’s demotion, which he called a “draconian action.” HB 1775 prohibits the teaching that any person “is responsible for acts committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.” It also prohibits any course material that would make a student “feel discomfort, guilt, distress, or any other form of psychological distress because of his race or sex.” ACLU Sues Oklahoma, Says Law Restricting Teaching Theories of Gender and Race Is Unconstitutional The complaint against Tulsa Public Schools stemmed from a 20-minute implicit bias training for teachers conducted by a third-party vendor last August. The administrative rules for HB 1775 extend the law’s prohibitions on teacher training. The Tulsa training informed teachers that they must be “aware of our inherent prejudices, as well as historical prejudices against minorities,” the Oklahoman reported. In response, a teacher filed a complaint with the state alleging that the teaching materials “specifically shame white people for past wrongdoings in history and state that everything is implicitly racist in nature,” according to Tulsa Public Radio. The agency identified the teacher who filed the complaint as Amy Cook, who was investigated earlier this year for alleged proselytizing in the classroom and briefly ran for state Senate. On her campaign website, she wrote that as a teacher in Tulsa Public Schools, she has seen “spiritually damaging programs, liberal brainwashing and political indoctrination creep into our schools.” Brad Clark, the state’s general counsel The Department of Education announced at a board meeting in June that its agency’s investigation into the complaint found the district in violation of the law. “It was a close call, but we believe the spirit of this training, or the design of it, was inconsistent with House Bill 1775,” Clark said in June. Although Clark recommended that the district be downgraded one level to “accredited with deficiency,” board member Brian Bobeck introduced a motion at Thursday’s meeting to downgrade one step further, to “accredited with warning.” That level indicates the district has a problem that “seriously impairs the quality of the school’s educational program,” according to state accreditation standards. Bobek argued that anyone who attended the training “will be prejudiced, potentially,” and called it a “blatant” violation that deserved a warning. Board member Estela Hernandez agreed, accusing the Tulsa district of intentionally violating the law and arguing that the extra level of demotion was necessary to “send a message.” The state’s finding that the training violated the law was met with backlash from board member Carlisha Williams Bradley, who said implicit bias “does not amount to inherent racism.” “Maybe that’s why some of this content should be taught in schools, because I just don’t know that we all have a common understanding of the definitions and the language here,” he told the meeting. Critical Race Theory’s New Laws Have Teachers Afraid, Confused, and Self-Censoring Williams-Bradley and state Superintendent Joey Hoffmeister, who won the primary last month to be the Democratic nominee for governor, voted against downgrading both districts. Hofmeister said she voted no because she supported the state agency’s recommendation to downgrade districts just one level. The council’s vote came less than a month after Stitt called for a “special audit” in the Tulsa district regarding the use of the coronavirus. relief funding and for allegedly teaching critical race theory, which the district denies. said Williams Bradley in Washington He posted Saturday that the decision was a “blatant attack” on Tulsa Public Schools, which he noted is a majority-minority district. “It is appalling and appalling that we have schools and educators who can be punished for talking about true events, history, and the implicit bias we all have based on the differences in our lived experiences,” he wrote. in an email. While the Tulsa complaint involved teacher training, the complaint against the Mustang district focused on a student lesson, which was investigated internally and self-reported to the state, Clark said. The exercise, which was taught by a single teacher, asked students to answer questions about whether they had experienced or committed discrimination or bullying, according to News 9. The district ruled the lesson violated the law because it made students to feel discomfort based on race or sex. The state also recommended that Mustang be downgraded to “deficiently accredited,” but board member Jennifer Monies argued that the commission should be “consistent in how we implement” HB 1775 and avoid the appearance of ” of unfair targeting’ of the Tulsa area. The same four members then voted to downgrade Mustang Public Schools two levels to “accredited with warning.”
