The Functional Government Initiative announced filing of a transparency lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education for withholding records regarding critical race theory.
The action comes after a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the FGI with the Education Department for records from top department political appointees regarding CRT in June 2022 went unanswered, according to a June 21 news release.
“CRT has become one of the most divisive topics in America. It claims to foster a better understanding of a volatile issue yet has only served to polarize Americans,” Peter McGinnis, FGI spokesman, said in the release. “The Education Department under the Biden administration continues to promote CRT yet refuses to turn over the documents that reveal their intentions."
CRT is an academic theory that originated in the 1970s on college campuses and has since become a topic of intense debate, the release reported. It posits that racism is deeply ingrained within legal systems, policies, economic markets and education.
The release said CRT transitioned from higher education into discussions of public policy and even elementary education. This expansion has led to divisions among policymakers and within classrooms. By January 2021, 42 states had taken measures to prohibit the teaching of CRT in classrooms, with 18 states actually implementing these new restrictions.
The Biden administration put forth a new regulation in April 2021 through the Department of Education that aimed to modify the criteria for granting funds to schools, according to a July 2021 Center Square article. According to the proposal, schools would receive preference in grant decisions if they incorporated content from the 1619 Project into their educational programs.
The 1619 Project, a contentious rendition of American history presented by The New York Times, promotes the ideas of CRT, Center Square reported. The article cited the New York Times, which said, “the goal of the 1619 Project is to reframe American history by considering what it would mean to regard 1619 as our nation's birth year.”
However, due to substantial opposition, the Department of Education reversed its stance and withdrew the proposed rule, according to Center Square.
In 2021, former President Donald Trump said the 1619 Project was “ideological poison” and “toxic propaganda” which would “destroy the country,” according to a Yahoo report. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has attempted to ban the project in Florida as a part of his “Stop W.O.K.E. Act.”
The FGI release also reported DeSantis recently enacted education initiatives in Florida to restrict CRT teaching in the classroom.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said these actions were the “opposite of what we need for our children,” a quote the FGI suggested was a promotion of CRT by the Education Department. The release said the Department of Education’s continued rejection of the FOIA request, which would allow the American public to understand the degree to which CRT is being pushed in schools, certainly increases doubts.
"With Secretary Cardona pushing back against efforts to stop CRT, it is now more important than ever that the pertinent records are released," McGinnis added, according to the release. "If the Education Department is promoting divisive messages, FGI will continue its pursuit of the truth so that the American public can be informed.”
