Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry bans teaching of critical race theory in schools

By Piper Hutchinson 

CRT is an advanced academic concept traditionally taught in graduate-level courses

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order Tuesday prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory in Louisiana K-12 public schools. 

Critical race theory (CRT) is an advanced academic concept that holds that race is socially constructed, and it examines how legal structures are used to oppress people of color. Most classes that take the theory into consideration are in graduate programs at the university level. There is no evidence these courses are being taught to children and teenagers. 

Some conservative politicians use CRT as a blanket term when targeting the teaching of slavery or other topics that actually do not apply critical race theory. 

A news release from Landry described the concept as “divisive teachings that instruct students to view life through the lens of race and victimhood.” 

“Louisiana students are best served with a clear focus on reading, math, meaningful high school experiences, elevating the teaching profession, and expanding educational freedom for families,” Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said in a statement to the Illuminator. 

The governor’s edict is already drawing criticism from education circles.

Belinda Davis, an LSU political science professor, often deflected conservative attacks when she was member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. As an appointee of former Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, she fought back against claims of student indoctrination at the hands of liberal teachers.  In an email Tuesday, she said Landry’s order will not address actual instructional needs.

“In political science research, we call this symbolic politics. It is designed to satisfy the extremists in his party by solving a problem that doesn’t exist,” Davis wrote. “I can’t wait to see the ‘list’ that Superintendent Brumley comes up with. As a public school parent, I wish he’d spend time on reading and math.”

John Guzda, a social studies teacher at West Jefferson High School in Harvey, said the governor’s order is “not only misguided but also detrimental to the education of our students.”

“It is evident that the Governor does not understand what CRT even is,” Guzda said in a statement. “As educators, we cannot ignore uncomfortable truths of America’s past. The systematic killing of Indigenous peoples, the horrors of Jim Crow laws, the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and other such events are integral parts of American history.”

Bans on CRT in public K-12 schools and universities have swept conservative states. Bills to ban it have been introduced in the Louisiana Legislature but failed. 

Landry’s executive order instructs Brumley, another conservative Republican, to review the state Department of Education’s policies and contracts to eliminate anything that endorses theories that posit that an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive.

The superintendent has also been asked to flag claims that moral character is necessarily determined by someone’s race or sex, or that, by virtue of their race or sex, they bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex. 

Landry also wants Brumley to weed out anything that suggests meritocracy or traits such as a strong work ethic are racist or sexist, or were created by a particular race or sex to oppress another race or sex, or encourages students to discriminate against someone based on any characteristic protected by federal or state law. 

Two years ago, Brumley ushered through new social studies curricula for K-12 schools that expressly excluded critical race theory.  At the time, Brumley said he defined CRT as teaching in a way that “everything must be viewed from the lens of race.”

 Greg LaRose contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared in Louisiana Illuminator on August 27th, 2024

Photo credit: David Shankbone

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