JUL 20, 2021

Attorney General Alan Wilson: U.S. Department of Education backs off critical race theory, marking a win for SC families

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – July 20, 2021 - Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that the Biden Administration has reversed course on educational proposals aimed at imposing the teaching of critical race theory (CRT), the 1619 Project, and other similar curriculum into America’s classrooms. The move comes on the heels of a letter by 20 state attorneys general  pushing back against the proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Education establishing priorities for grants in American History and Civics Education programs.

Attorney General Wilson said, “This is a big win for South Carolina families. We wanted to make sure United States History and Civics are taught in a way that does not include leftist ideologies. As we said in our brief, the priorities that were proposed by the US Department of Education would teach factually deficient history and would lead to racial and ethnic division and more discrimination.”

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, the attorneys general urge the Department to review the directives for teaching “traditional American history” as prescribed in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015.

“Congress made clear that the purpose of the (ESSA) programs is to advance a traditional understanding of American history, civics, and government,” the letter states. “The proposed priorities would do little to advance that goal.”

Attorney General Wilson said, “The proposed priorities needed to be rejected as would anything that characterizes the United States as irredeemably racist or founded on principles of racism instead of equality, or that would assign fault, blame, or bias to a particular race or to an individual because of race.”

You can read the amicus brief from the 20 attorneys general here.

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