Louisiana governor bans teaching of critical race theory in public schools

BATON ROUGE, La. (TND) — The governor of Louisiana has signed an executive order to prevent the use of critical race theory, or CRT, in the state’s public schools.

Gov. Jeff Landry inked the order on Tuesday, making Louisiana the eighteenth state to ban what he described as “divisive teachings” in grades K-12.

“This executive order is a much-needed sigh of relief for parents and students across our state, especially as kids are heading back to school. Teaching children that they are currently or destined to be oppressed or to be an oppressor based on their race and origin is wrong and has no place in our Louisiana classrooms,” Landry, a Republican, said in a statement on his website.

He also said he thinks “students should be learning about American exceptionalism and the principles embodied in State and Federal Constitutions of the United States of America that recognize the equal value of every individual.”

Nearly 20 other states have restricted the teaching of CRT, which is an academic field that recognizes systematic racism as part of American society.

According to Louisiana Illuminator, there isn’t any evidence CRT classes are currently being taught to children and adolescents in Louisiana’s public schools. The media outlet reported that most CRT courses are offered at the college level.

“It is evident that the Governor does not understand what CRT even is,” West Jefferson High School social studies teacher John Guzda told Louisiana Illuminator. “As educators, we cannot ignore uncomfortable truths of America’s past. The systematic killing of Indigenous peoples, the horrors of Jim Crow laws, the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and other such events are integral parts of American history.”