The Florida Citizens Alliance (FLCA) is asking Governor Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to halt the adoption of English Language Arts textbooks to ensure they do not contain Critical Race Theory.
“Right now, all 67 Florida school districts are adopting and purchasing English Language Arts (ELA) textbooks,” Keith Flaugh, a Founder and Managing Director of FLCA, said. “Many of these materials are published by the same progressive publishers that gave us, and the rest of nation, Common Core.”
In addition, the organization wants the state to prohibit any school district in Florida from accepting federal grants related to Critical Race Theory and similar topics.
“The Governor has the executive power as Florida’s Governor and with the 10th Amendment to just say no,” said Flaugh. “If not, Critical Race Theory will be a huge embarrassment in Florida; and it will be infused into our classrooms for the next four to six years.”
The FLCA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that champions K-12 education reform in Florida, believes making Critical Race Theory part of school curriculum teaches kids to be ashamed of their race. This conservative group previously worked to abolish Common Core in Florida and is a proponent of school choice, parental rights and defending conservative values in schools.
Critical race theory examines the way race and racism influences politics, culture and the law. Critical Race Theorists contend institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans. According to Purdue University, critical race theory scholarship shows how racism continues to be pervasive and why it denies individuals their constitutional rights.
The FLCA recently published an open letter on the topic and has gathered support from about 50 other organizations across the state. Some organizations joining in signing the letter include: Defend Florida, We The People IRC, American Christian Civil Rights Movement, Pinellas Patriots, Moms for America, Women Fighting for America, Gulf Coast Classical Academy, Save Florida Schools and several 912 Groups around the state.
In March, DeSantis announced that he does not support Critical Race Theory in Florida schools. At a press conference in Naples, he outlined the Civic Literacy Excellence Initiative, a proposal to use $116 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to supplement civics education in Florida schools. Part of that plan was $17 million for developing civics curricula with “foundational concepts” and not “unsanctioned narratives like Critical Race Theory.”
““There is no room in our classrooms for things like Critical Race Theory. Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis told Sean Hannity on FoxNews, “I do think we need to rediscover in our K through 12 system the founding of the country, what makes our country unique but when you do that, it’s got to be true and solid and factual. And you can’t let it become infected with left wing ideology like Critical Race Theory.
“(Critical Race Theory is) divisive, and it’s basically an identity politics version of Marxism. It has no place in the classroom and certainly shouldn’t be funded by taxpayers,” said the Governor.