Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Coppell school officials for teaching "critical race theory" in response to an edited video by a conservative activist that appears to show a school administrator discussing how to circumvent state education standards.
In the video, a person identified as the district's director of curriculum and instruction is seen talking about how Coppell had “gotten around” prohibitions on the use of so-called CRT in state policies and curricula, “by saying, 'we’re not teaching that.'”
The administrator, identified in the video as Evan Whitfield, is at one point asked whether Coppell schools are forced by Texas to teach an inaccurate, "MAGA version of history."
"One thing I love about this district is, despite what our state standards say and despite what, you know, is going on, we do what's right for kids," the man can be heard saying.
"Critical race theory" — the idea that racism is systemic and engrained in the law and public policy — is a legal framework that goes back to the 1970's, and is almost exclusively taught in post-graduate and law schools.
But in recent years, the term has been used beyond its original definition. Texas' law banning "CRT" in classrooms, for example, limits how teachers can talk about current events in the classroom.
The man identified as Whitfield can also be heard discussing “Next Generation Science Standards” curriculum, which is used by at least 20 states in the U.S. but has not been approved by the Texas Board of Education.
The curriculum, which was rejected by the state for its environmental education content, focuses on the gravity of climate change, its direct impact by humans, and policy solutions for climate change.
KERA reached out to the district for a comment and will update this story with any response.
“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,” read a statement from Paxton Wednesday. “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.”
In 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a controversial bill that limiting how Texas teachers talk about current events and America’s history of racism in the classroom. The legislation aimed to ban the teaching of “critical race theory” in K-12 public school classrooms.
The suit claims district officials acted as government officials and violated state law “by using state or local funds or other resources of the district to develop and distribute for teaching CRT curricula.”
Paxton is seeking injunctive relief which would prohibit future teachings of critical race theory.
Penelope Rivera is KERA’s breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope at privera@kera.org.
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