Katy ISD students were reportedly given a lesson on “whiteness” that included questions like, “How is colorblindness a form of white privilege?”
A photo of an alleged lesson plan titled “The Whiteness Project: Millennials” was obtained by the right-leaning social media account Libs of TikTok and shared on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. According to the lesson plan, students were directed to watch a series of videos from whitenessproject.org. They were then asked to answer questions such as, “If Connor was a person of color, how might his life be different?”
Texas law prohibits the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. The ideological framework, often referred to as CRT, maintains that systemic racism continues to exist in the United States.
In a statement to the Texas Scorecard, a spokesperson for Katy ISD said the lesson was utilized by a single teacher.
“A teacher had independently identified and shared the activity with a class of students. To be clear, it was not a campus or district-sanctioned lesson or classroom activity and is not part of the approved Katy ISD curriculum,” the spokesperson said. “All campuses have a process in place for the review and approval of classroom activities for all grade-level topics and subjects.”
“Upon being informed of the incident last school year, the campus administration promptly addressed the matter with the teacher, reviewed protocols with all staff, and has provided assurances that instructional personnel are adhering to curriculum standards,” the spokesperson added.
One of the videos students were directed to watch as part of the lesson plan focused on a man named Connor who claimed, “I would be in jail if I was not white.”
The man went on to allege that he had been arrested more than 20 times on various charges but never served jail time. He said whenever he got in legal trouble, he would just “get a lawyer, suit up, and show up.”
Students were asked, “What does [the video] tell us about the importance of talking about whiteness among ourselves and with students?”
Another question reads, “How is colorblindness a form of white privilege?”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the alleged teaching of CRT in public schools prompted outrage among some parents who claim lessons informed by the ideology constitute a racially divisive form of political indoctrination that ultimately comes at the expense of academic fundamentals.
Dallas ISD, for instance, has struggled for years to provide district students with a quality education despite the efforts of its hardworking educators, who must abide by a curriculum set by an allegedly politicized board of trustees. During the 2021-2022 school year, nearly 20% of the district’s graduating Class of 2022 did not earn a diploma in four years, and only 41% of all students tested at grade level, according to a state accountability report.
The district’s trustees passed a resolution in 2021 opposing the banning of CRT in public schools just a month before Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that did just that.
For its part, Katy ISD saw about 68% of its students score at grade level during the 2021-2022 school year. Some 95% of its Class of 2022 graduated on time.