Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Kerro) — In April of this year, Gov. Christy Noem asked the Department of Education to review all policies, guidance, and content to address what the governor considers to be “intrinsically divisive concepts.” issued an executive order directing its removal.
After months of review and several inquiries from KELOLAND News reporter Bob Mercer, the DOE released its findings last week on how prevalent racial theory is in K-12 education in South Dakota. announced.
DOE reviewed thousands of materials, policies, guidance, and content standards, but determined that two violated Noem’s executive order. DOE intelligence expert Ruth Raveling said both standards found in violation are part of the Law and Public Safety II course.
“[The standards] It will be addressed when the law, public safety and security content standards are reviewed in 2025,” Raveling said in an email to KELOLAND News on August 23.
The report lists the following components of the course as follows:
- “Analyze the differences in power and privilege associated with people of culturally diverse backgrounds, beliefs and practices.”
- “Analyzing issues of cultural assimilation and cultural preservation among ethnic and racial groups in South Dakota and the United States.”
The report further states that the course is not currently offered in South Dakota and, if offered, would not be “frequently” taught at the K-12 level.
Janna Farley, director of communications for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), does not believe the report’s findings are representative of South Dakota’s CRT problem. Instead, the ACLU, in a letter sent to the Board of Educational Standards, said the report and her Noem executive order could potentially violate the First Amendment rights of students and educators. claims that there is
“So, if you look at the entire past year, there has been a real increase in state-based efforts across the country to limit the teaching of so-called divisive concepts. It appears to be a concerted effort to curb freedom and take away the ability to discuss issues of racial justice in the classroom,” Farley said.
When asked whether the two examples of the inherently fragmented concept found among the thousands represent a larger problem, Governor Nome’s communications director, Ian Fury, said that the governor had said, “CRT “We have worked to ensure that it does not become the foundation of the education of South Dakota students.” ”
On August 22nd, Fury said in an email to KELOLAND News, “We are pleased that we are doing a good job of keeping these dividing concepts from seeping into our children’s classrooms.
In a campaign ad released on August 15, Lt. Gov. Larry Roden boasted that the Nome administration has protected South Dakota’s freedoms “in every way.”
“And when they chased our kids with Critical Race Theory, we blocked their propaganda,” Rhoden said in the ad.
Last year, Noem issued two Executive Orders, signed bills, and worked with the Board of Trustees on the topic of Critical Race Theory. During the 2022 legislative session, HB 1012 was signed into law, prohibiting universities and colleges from promoting concepts that are inherently divisive in orientation and training. Laws do not affect college-level curricula.
After Congress defeated Noem’s bill, which would ban concepts that are inherently divisive, the governor issued an executive order removing such concepts from K-12 education.
“We actively remove critical racial theories before they take hold in our schools. We are taking action to promote America’s true and honest history, including history and culture.
Noem’s governor’s opponent, Jamie Smith, told KELOLAND News by email that he never encountered significant race theory while teaching middle and high school.
“In all my years as a teacher, CRT was never mentioned in the curriculum. Smith said.
Smith went on to say that he did not view the two found cases as emblematic of the CRT problem in South Dakota.
“I think it’s embarrassing for the governor to find only two violations of her own executive order, which is probably why she withheld reporting for so long,” Smith said. increase. “These two examples relate to advanced-level courses for law enforcement training that are in line with higher education and industry expectations for law enforcement training, according to the report.” South Dakota Schools is doing an excellent job of regulating itself at the local level. This is another issue Christy Noem brings to our state. ”
Due to the overwhelming public feedback on the DOE report, the public hearing scheduled for August 22 was postponed to give the school board standards time to consider comments. Once the hearing is scheduled, Raveling said comments will be posted online a week in advance.
As of Friday, August 26, there is still no rescheduled date for the hearing.
DOE is currently drafting new standards for social studies, separate from the report on the concept, which is inherently fragmented. The first public conference on social studies standards is scheduled for September 19th in Aberdeen, and another he scheduled for November 21st in Sioux Falls.
