Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota has joined the governors of Texas, Florida, and several other states in banning critical race theory (CRT) from being taught in schools in her state.
This topic has become a hot-button issue lately. For example, according to Media Matters, Fox News used the term 1,300 times in just over three months in 2021.
Opponents of CRT claim it pits children against each other based on their race. When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed similar legislation into law, he asserted that critical race theory was “basically teaching kids to hate our country and to hate each other based on race.”
“It puts race as the most important thing. I want content of character to be the most important thing,” said DeSantis.
Defenders of CRT say its critics are exaggerating the educational framework that is limited to law schools and advanced graduate programs. Professors of CRT say it does not encourage racism but rather studies how U.S. institutions are embedded with racism in laws, regulations, rules, and procedures that lead to different outcomes by race.
“Critical race theory just says, ‘Let’s pay attention to what has happened in this country and how what has happened in this country is continuing to create differential outcomes, so we can become that country that we say we are,'” said Kimberlé Crenshaw in an interview with CNN. Crenshaw is a law professor at UCLA and Columbia and a pioneering scholar in the field of CRT.
Before Governor Noem’s executive order, nine states had already passed legislation against CRT, though only two (Idaho and North Dakota) mentioned the theory by name. Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Arizona are the other seven states. However, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned that state’s legislation. There are also another 19 states that are considering passing similar legislation.
Governor Noem signed an executive order on April 5 that she said aimed at banning the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 state schools.
“Political indoctrination has no place in our classrooms,” Noem said. “Our children will not be taught that they are racists or that they are victims, and they will not be compelled to feel responsible for the mistakes of their ancestors. We will guarantee that our students learn America’s true and honest history –- that includes both our triumphs and our mistakes.”
Her executive order will require South Dakota’s Department of Education to verify that materials used to educate children do not contain concepts that might cause racial divisions.
Noem’s executive order comes after the state’s Senate Education Committee rejected a bill that she had proposed in early March. However, it did pass a similar bill that dealt with universities’ curricula in the state. South Dakota’s Senate Education Committee has a slight majority of Republicans.
Those on both sides hotly debated the bill that did not pass. One of the opponents was State Senator Troy Heinert, a Democrat and Native American member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. His reason for voting against the bill included concerns about it perpetuating racism and that it might prevent the accurate teaching of the atrocities committed against Native Americans in the state.
The Associated School Boards of South Dakota also criticized Noem’s failed bill as unnecessary.
While Governor Noem stated that her executive order would restrict CRT, the term is not mentioned in the order. It is also important to note that school districts in South Dakota are responsible for determining much of the curriculum taught.