Three books widely considered to be part of the critical race theory (CRT) movement are required reading for some Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) students.
According to a report recently published by The Texan, Carlos Turcios, an FWISD graduate and concerned resident, brought the issue to light and believed it might violate a law signed by Governor Greg Abbott in December 2021.
Senate Bill 3, which passed in the second special session of the 87th Texas Legislature, was part of an effort to standardize civics education statewide.
The bill went into effect on December 2 and had three provisions that standout out among others. It bans schools from teaching that “one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex,” that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously,” and that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, bears responsibility, blame, or guilt for actions committed by other members of the same race or sex.”
The bill is effective for students in kindergarten up to the twelfth grade across all public school districts.
Turcios complained that the syllabus for a dual-credit English course he had signed up for at Southwest High School assigned the following titles: How to be an Antiracist by Ibram Kendi, The Black Friend by Frederick Joseph, and Biased by Jennifer Eberhardt. The books were assigned as part of a gender, race, and ethnicity study.
These books have critical acclaim but have been widely discussed in political circles.
The Kendi book is almost exclusively associated with CRT. If the books are classified as CRT, that would mean they are prohibited in Texas high schools, but the legality is complicated because the books were assigned as part of a dual-credit curriculum.
Turcios signed up for a dual-credit course as part of the OnRamps college credit program developed by the University of Texas at Austin in 2011 with support from the Texas Legislature.
Turcios told The Texan, “I am concerned that dual credit classes and high school classes are slowly embedding woke ideology. The UT OnRamps class is one I took when I was in high school and was filled with woke ideology of gender and race.”
OnRamps consists of college education curricula open to high school seniors and learning professionals; when the former enroll in the program, they have an opportunity to satisfy the academic requirements for a high school education while simultaneously earning higher education credits.
Because UT Austin manages OnRamps, Senate Bill 3 may not be applicable because it is not a K-12 institution.
Republican State Senator Bryan Hughes, who represents Mineola in the Texas Legislature, believes that FWISD violates SB 3 regardless of whether it is in a dual credit course.
“If Fort Worth ISD or any school district in Texas is including reading material in its OnRamps courses that advances concepts associated with critical race theory, the school district is in violation of state law,” Hughes told The Texan.
UT Austin will likely not be obligated by SB 3 to modify the syllabus of the courses that the education cadre designs; after all, UT is the one granting college credits. FWISD would have to decide to drop OnRamp English or any other courses offered by UT Austin from its offerings, but this would, in turn, limit academic opportunities for many students.
However, Eliska Padilla, the Issues and Communications Manager for UT Austin, told The Dallas Express in an email, “All UT dual credit, OnRamps courses, have been reviewed and redeveloped as needed to ensure compliance with SB3. This assignment, as written by the university, calls for independent research and does not provide a booklist. OnRamps will address current law compliance and course integrity during required teacher professional development.”
In March 2021, FWISD’s superintendent Kent Scribner called concerns about CRT in the school district “a manufactured crisis.”
Scribner is one of the North Texas superintendents who have resigned from their position. His resignation will take effect on August 31, 2022, two years before his contract was scheduled to end.
Note: This article was updated on May 2 at 11:41 a.m. to include comment from UT Austin.