Title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Critical Race Theory serves as a prejudicial ideological tool, rather than an educational tool, and should not be taught in K-12 classrooms as a way to teach students to judge individuals based on sex, race, ethnicity, and national origin.
Policy area: Education

Summary:
This resolution calls on the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education and state attorneys general to assist elementary and secondary schools in complying with existing civil rights laws and investigate and enforce such laws. In addition, the resolution condemns the practice of requiring teachers to receive education in critical race theory as a condition of certification.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 397 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 397

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Critical Race 
    Theory serves as a prejudicial ideological tool, rather than an 
educational tool, and should not be taught in K-12 classrooms as a way 
 to teach students to judge individuals based on sex, race, ethnicity, 
                          and national origin.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 14, 2021

Mr. Owens (for himself, Mr. Banks, Mr. Allen, Mr. Babin, Mr. Bishop of 
 North Carolina, Mrs. Boebert, Mr. Brooks, Mr. Buck, Mr. Cawthorn, Mr. 
  Cloud, Mr. Donalds, Mr. Good of Virginia, Mr. Fallon, Mr. Grothman, 
Mrs. Harshbarger, Mr. Harris, Mr. Issa, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Jacobs of New 
 York, Mr. Joyce of Pennsylvania, Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Mr. Mast, 
    Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. Perry, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mr. Rice of South 
    Carolina, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Roy, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, Mr. 
    Stewart, Mr. Tiffany, and Mr. Calvert) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Critical Race 
    Theory serves as a prejudicial ideological tool, rather than an 
educational tool, and should not be taught in K-12 classrooms as a way 
 to teach students to judge individuals based on sex, race, ethnicity, 
                          and national origin.

Whereas Critical Race Theory seeks to portray the United States not as a united 
        Nation of people, families, and communities striving for a common 
        purpose, but rather one of many victimized groups based on sex, race, 
        ethnicity, and national origin;
Whereas Critical Race Theory's teachings stand in contrast to the overarching 
        goal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prevent discrimination on the 
        basis of race, color, or national origin in the United States;
Whereas William Jacobson, a Cornell University professor, created 
        criticalrace.org to highlight the over 200 universities across the 
        Nation with Critical Race Theory programming;
Whereas while present on college and university campuses for decades, Critical 
        Race Theory has increasingly infiltrated our Nation's elementary and 
        secondary school classrooms in recent years;
Whereas Critical Race Theory serves to resegregate institutions of education and 
        balkanize students into groups by race and ethnicity;
Whereas efforts to indoctrinate Critical Race Theory into American school 
        children are designed to eventually transform America by stigmatizing 
        its economic system and create a hatred of all its institutions;
Whereas Critical Race Theory founder Derrick Bell has stated that ``most 
        critical race theorists are committed to a program of scholarly 
        resistance, and most hope scholarly resistance will lay the groundwork 
        for wide-scale resistance.'';
Whereas Critical Race Theory serves to reinforce the soft bigotry of low 
        expectations by substituting systemic racism as the determining factor 
        in academic achievement gaps rather than the ongoing failure of 
        policymakers and the education system to provide students of color 
        necessary educational opportunities;
Whereas Critical Race Theory has manifested itself in various damaging ways in 
        American elementary and secondary schools;
Whereas the 1619 Project, which puts slavery, not the ideal of equality, at the 
        center of our Nation's storyline and has been widely debunked by 
        historians across the ideological spectrum, is nevertheless being taught 
        in 4,500 classrooms across the country;
Whereas the California Department of Education (CDE) Foundation, in partnership 
        with over 30 education organizations and the Bill and Melinda Gates 
        Foundation, developed ``A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction'' 
        toolkit that promotes the concept that White supremacy manifests itself 
        through the focus on finding the right answers, thereby discouraging 
        teachers from requiring students to show their work or consider ways 
        there could be two answers to a problem;
Whereas, in 2017, the Seattle Public School Board directed the ``Ethnic Studies 
        Task Force'' to develop an ethnic studies curriculum, which defined 
        ethnic studies as a way to counteract systems of oppression, such as 
        patriarchy and capitalism;
Whereas the Madison Metropolitan School District is requiring staff to 
        participate in mandatory 21 hours of professional development that 
        claims practices such as teachers leading a classroom, keeping a class 
        on schedule, and the term ``student'' are a part of White, Western 
        thought and are racist;
Whereas students at a Las Vegas charter school were required to take a yearlong 
        virtual ``Sociology of Change'' course where assignments required 
        students to reveal their race, gender, sexual orientation, and 
        disabilities and then determine if oppression or privilege were a part 
        of those identities, allegedly without any accommodations if a student 
        had a conscientious objection to the course;
Whereas, in October 2020, the San Diego Unified School District board voted to 
        change ``discriminatory grading practices'' and no longer requires 
        students to turn in their homework on time in order to ``be an anti-
        racist school district'';
Whereas while students should learn how to actively engage in civil society, 
        Critical Race Theory often advocates for ``action civics'', which in 
        some school districts has resulted in students being taught how to 
        engage in disruptive protests without as much concern for teaching the 
        fundamentals of how government works and why;
Whereas according to the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of 
        Pennsylvania, just over half of all Americans cannot name all three 
        branches of government, and 76 percent of eighth grade students scored 
        at or below proficient in civics on the most recent National Assessment 
        of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment;
Whereas State legislators across the country have introduced bills to prevent 
        schools from teaching that the United States is fundamentally racist or 
        sexist, and that on account of an individual's race or gender they may 
        be responsible for actions committed in the past;
Whereas, on January 19, 2021, the Department of Education's Office for Civil 
        Rights posted a webinar to provide an overview on how racially exclusive 
        practices are prohibited under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 
        but the Department of Education has since archived the webinar and 
        labeled it as ``not for reliance''; and
Whereas, on January 22, 2021, the Department of Education's Office for Civil 
        Rights reportedly suspended a finding that an Illinois school district 
        violated title VI of the Civil Rights Act when it segregated students 
        and staff, directed teachers to treat students differently based on 
        their race, and endorsed racially charged messages: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns racism in all forms and calls on the American 
        people to eliminate racism and defend the civil rights of all 
        people, including within our Nation's education system;
            (2) calls on the Department of Education's Office for Civil 
        Rights and State attorneys general to assist schools in being 
        compliant with existing civil rights laws and to investigate 
        and enforce the law when appropriate;
            (3) supports States' and communities' actions to implement 
        policies and practices to protect the rights of parents and 
        guardians to know what their children are being taught;
            (4) calls on States and communities to support curriculum 
        transparency policies to make elementary and secondary 
        education curriculum materials accessible, including online, to 
        parents, guardians, and the public for review before the use of 
        such materials;
            (5) recognizes that open enrollment and school choice 
        policies allow students to access the school, and thereby the 
        curriculum, which the parent or guardian believes is best 
        positioned to educate the student;
            (6) condemns State and local educational agencies that 
        facilitate or expend resources on education and professional 
        development exercises that focus on ostracizing one individual 
        or group from another;
            (7) condemns the practice of requiring teachers to receive 
        Critical Race Theory education in order to be certified as a 
        teacher; and
            (8) urges State and local educational agencies to ensure 
        that students are taught civics education to learn the core 
        tenants of American Government, the Constitution, the rule of 
        law, and that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits 
        discrimination by race, color, or national origin.
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