Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is leading a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general urging the Biden administration to reconsider educational proposals aimed at imposing the teaching of critical race theory (CRT), the 1619 Project, and other similar curriculum into America’s classrooms. Such goals are woven into a proposed new rule by the U.S. Department of Education establishing priorities for grants in American History and Civics Education programs.
Rokita
“This proposed rule aims to co-opt America’s traditional U.S. history and civics curriculum by imposing the deeply flawed and radical teachings of critical race theory into the classroom,” Rokita said. “I’m thankful for the leadership of my colleagues in joining us to call on the Biden administration to reverse course on this reckless federal imposition into our schools.”
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Rokita urges 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.”
The ESSA – championed by Rokita when he served as the Chairman of the U.S. House Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee – was described by the Wall Street Journal as the “largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter century.” The legislation gave authority back to parents, teachers, and local communities in deciding education policy.
“When I co-authored ESSA in Congress, the intent was to get away from Washington-driven one-size-fits-all education policies and teach traditional American history and civics,” Rokita said. “We don’t need a new liberal indoctrination project that endorses factually deficient instruction and racial division.”
Rokita served as a member of Congress from Indiana’s 4th congressional district from January 2011 until January 2018.
The letter is joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.