Coppell ISD officials are pushing back against accusations they're violating laws against teaching critical race theory, saying an undercover video used as the basis for Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit against the district was misleading and taken out of context.
In the video, a person identified as the district's director of curriculum and instruction, Evan Whitfield, appears to be seen talking to an undercover activist about how Coppell had “gotten around” prohibitions on the use of so-called "CRT" in state policies and curricula.
In court documents, attorneys for the district officials called the video — posted by conservative activists Accuracy in Media — "heavily edited and manipulated so to be grossly misleading."
"Notably, the petition does not allege a single verified instance where CISD has previously taught CRT, is currently teaching CRT, or is about to teach CRT," the complaint noted in a footnote. "Again, the only basis for the Attorney General’s lawsuit is the re-posted, over two years old, heavily edited video created by Accuracy in Media."
The video was first released in February 2023 before it was reposted this year.
The suit claims Whitfield and others 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,” citing the Accuracy in Media video.
In the school officials' answer to Paxton's complaint — which also seeks sanctions against the AG — they characterized the suit as baseless harassment. They claim in part Whitfield's comments were taken out of context and played out of sequence to the questions he was responding to, which they say were not related to questions about teaching critical race theory.
The district's response also accused Paxton of waiting until March to file the suit in order to use it as part of an argument for a Texas bill that would allow parents to use public funds to pay for private schools.
In a phone call with KERA News, Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette called the officials "lying bureaucrats."
"If the district had reached out to us for the entire videos, we would have gladly sent the videos to them," Guillette said. "They have never reached out us. And since they haven't seen the videos, they can't with a straight face make any sorts of claims about the context. These are liars who are doubling down on their law-breaking lies."
Guillette declined to share the full, unedited videos with KERA News, citing an ongoing investigation. He agreed to send over longer portions of the video "without any notable edits," but said they could not be released until at least early next week because the group's editors are working on "a number of other releases all weekend."
Among the defendants in the suit is Coppell Superintendent Brad Hunt, who on Thursday announced his retirement at the end of this school year after eight years leading the district.
"Working alongside such outstanding educators has been the most rewarding experience of my career," Hunt said in his announcement. "Together, we’ve reached milestones that have propelled our students to incredible heights. CISD has become a shining example of what education can and should be — a true destination district."
The superintendent didn't give a reason for his retirement or what his next plans may be. KERA News reached out to Coppell ISD and the defendants' attorneys and will update this story with any response.
"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 1970s and is almost exclusively taught in post-graduate and law schools. There's been no evidence it's being taught widely in elementary, middle or high schools, but in some cases, opponents of "CRT" have pointed to lessons about racism and other social justice topics as examples.
Texas' law against teaching critical race theory, which was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2021, has been criticized as censorship by limiting how teachers can talk about current events in the classroom.
Paxton's suit against CISD also alleged Whitfield’s reference to Next Generation Science Standards — which is used by at least 20 states in the U.S. but has not been approved by the Texas Board of Education — shows a “continuing pattern for disregard for state law and executive direction."
The curriculum was rejected by the state for its environmental education content, which focuses on the gravity of climate change, its human causes and policy solutions. However, the updated Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills — or TEKS — does require eighth graders to learn about climate change.
A month prior to the initial suit, Coppell school officials said they also sent Paxton the district's approved curricula for all grades and subjects and policies after it was requested by Paxton's office.
"Upon reasonable inquiry, the curricula plans produced by CISD before this lawsuit was filed show unequivocally that CISD follows the state’s TEKS mandated curriculum, and does not teach CRT," the document read.
"A reasonable inquiry by the Attorney General into the petition’s allegations would have shown that the factual and legal allegations that CISD is knowingly teaching CRT in violation of state law have no evidentiary support," the complaint said. "(T)he Attorney General, however, did not make a reasonable inquiry and/or ignored the available facts."
Penelope Rivera is KERA’s breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope at privera@kera.org.
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