ANDREW DeMILLO
Updated Mon, March 25, 2024
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs an education overhaul bill into law, March 8, 2023, at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. On Monday, March 25, 2024, a high school teacher and two students sued Arkansas over the state's ban on critical race theory and “indoctrination” in public schools, asking a federal judge to strike down the restrictions as unconstitutional.
(AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo, File)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A high school teacher and two students sued Arkansas on Monday over the state's ban on critical race theory and “indoctrination” in public schools, asking a federal judge to strike down the restrictions as unconstitutional.
The lawsuit by the teacher and students from Little Rock Central High School, site of the historic 1957 racial desegregation crisis, stems from the state's decision last year that an Advanced Placement course on African American Studies would not count toward state credit.
The lawsuit argues the restrictions, which were among a number of education changes that Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law last year, violate free speech protections under the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
“It absolutely chills free speech” and “discriminates on the basis of race,” the lawsuit said.
“Indeed, defendants’ brazen attack on full classroom participation for all students in 2024 is reminiscent of the state’s brazen attack on full classroom participation for all students in 1957,” the lawsuit said.
Arkansas and other Republican-led states in recent years have placed restrictions on how race is taught in the classroom, including prohibitions on critical race theory, an academic framework dating to the 1970s that centers on the idea that racism is embedded in the nation’s institutions. The theory is not a fixture of K-12 education, and Arkansas' ban does not define what would be considered critical race theory. The lawsuit argues that the definition the law uses for prohibited indoctrination is overly broad and vague.
Tennessee educators filed a similar lawsuit last year challenging that state's sweeping bans on teaching certain concepts of race, gender and bias in classroom.
Arkansas' restrictions mirror an executive order Sanders signed on her first day in office last year. The Republican governor defended the law and criticized the lawsuit.
“In the state of Arkansas, we will not indoctrinate our kids and teach them to hate America or each other,” Sanders said in a statement. “It’s sad the radical left continues to lie and play political games with our kids’ futures.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked high schools in his state from teaching the AP African American Studies course. The College Board released the latest updated framework for the course in December, months after initial revisions prompted criticism the nonprofit was bowing to conservative backlash to the class.
Arkansas education officials last year said the AP African American studies class couldn’t be part of the state’s advanced placement course offerings because it’s still a pilot program and hasn’t been vetted by the state yet to determine whether it complied with the law.
Central High and the five other schools offering the class said they would continue doing so as a local elective. The class still counts toward a student's GPA.
The lawsuit is the second challenge against Sanders' LEARNS Act, which also created a new school voucher program. The Arkansas Supreme Court in October rejected a challenge to the law that questioned the Legislature's procedural vote that allowed it to take effect immediately.
"The LEARNS Act has brought much-needed reforms to Arkansas. I have successfully defended (the law) from challenges before, and I am prepared to vigorously defend it again,” Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin said.
African American Studies students sue over Arkansas LEARNS Act ‘indoctrination’ section
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A high school teacher and two students sued Arkansas on Monday over the state's ban on critical race theory and “indoctrination” in public schools, asking a federal judge to strike down the restrictions as unconstitutional.
The lawsuit by the teacher and students from Little Rock Central High School, site of the historic 1957 racial desegregation crisis, stems from the state's decision last year that an Advanced Placement course on African American Studies would not count toward state credit.
The lawsuit argues the restrictions, which were among a number of education changes that Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law last year, violate free speech protections under the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
“It absolutely chills free speech” and “discriminates on the basis of race,” the lawsuit said.
“Indeed, defendants’ brazen attack on full classroom participation for all students in 2024 is reminiscent of the state’s brazen attack on full classroom participation for all students in 1957,” the lawsuit said.
Arkansas and other Republican-led states in recent years have placed restrictions on how race is taught in the classroom, including prohibitions on critical race theory, an academic framework dating to the 1970s that centers on the idea that racism is embedded in the nation’s institutions. The theory is not a fixture of K-12 education, and Arkansas' ban does not define what would be considered critical race theory. The lawsuit argues that the definition the law uses for prohibited indoctrination is overly broad and vague.
Tennessee educators filed a similar lawsuit last year challenging that state's sweeping bans on teaching certain concepts of race, gender and bias in classroom.
Arkansas' restrictions mirror an executive order Sanders signed on her first day in office last year. The Republican governor defended the law and criticized the lawsuit.
“In the state of Arkansas, we will not indoctrinate our kids and teach them to hate America or each other,” Sanders said in a statement. “It’s sad the radical left continues to lie and play political games with our kids’ futures.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked high schools in his state from teaching the AP African American Studies course. The College Board released the latest updated framework for the course in December, months after initial revisions prompted criticism the nonprofit was bowing to conservative backlash to the class.
Arkansas education officials last year said the AP African American studies class couldn’t be part of the state’s advanced placement course offerings because it’s still a pilot program and hasn’t been vetted by the state yet to determine whether it complied with the law.
Central High and the five other schools offering the class said they would continue doing so as a local elective. The class still counts toward a student's GPA.
The lawsuit is the second challenge against Sanders' LEARNS Act, which also created a new school voucher program. The Arkansas Supreme Court in October rejected a challenge to the law that questioned the Legislature's procedural vote that allowed it to take effect immediately.
"The LEARNS Act has brought much-needed reforms to Arkansas. I have successfully defended (the law) from challenges before, and I am prepared to vigorously defend it again,” Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin said.
African American Studies students sue over Arkansas LEARNS Act ‘indoctrination’ section
Neale Zeringue
KARK
Mon, March 25, 2024
African American Studies students sue over Arkansas LEARNS Act ‘indoctrination’ section
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas LEARNS Act is being challenged in federal court by students and a teacher in the Little Rock School District and the state officials are not backing down.
Across the street from the historic Central High School Monday, the plaintiffs called section 16 of the law prohibiting “indoctrination” in Arkansas Schools unconstitutional and asked the court to immediately stop the state from enforcing it.
Arkansas public school students no longer receiving AMI days; how this is impacted by LEARNS Act
The law caused uncertainty for students taking AP African American Studies days before the 2023-2024 school year started because it was pulled from the course code before the course framework was altered to exclude critical race theory and address concerns in themes like “intersections of identity” and “resistance and resilience”.
“This course is just a way for me to learn another perspective,” Sadie Belle Reynolds argued.
Reynolds, a plaintiff and Central High School freshman taking AP African American Studies, is one of five plaintiffs including her mother, a classmate and her mother and the teacher of AP African American Studies Ruthie Walls.
“If we don’t be very careful, we’ll end up in the same awkward position we were years ago, and we have people to stand up and say no,” Walls said.
She and other plaintiffs in a 56-page lawsuit claim the LEARNS Act section on “Indoctrination” which calls out “Critical Race Theory” violates the First Amendment protections of free speech and the Fourteenth Amendment protections of equal protection under the law.
In a statement Monday Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded to the lawsuit.
“In the State of Arkansas, we will not indoctrinate our kids and teach them to hate America or each other,” she said. “It’s sad the radical left continues to lie and play political games with our kids’ futures.”
Arkansas Education Secretary sends letter to 5 school districts concerning AP African American Studies
Jennifer Reynolds, plaintiff, mother of a student taking African American Studies, said the class her daughter attends fosters understanding not division.
“I don’t really understand what is the boogeyman in all of this and what is the fear of the indoctrination,” Reynolds said.
Part of the lawsuit is for damages. Mike Laux, one of the attorneys representing the teacher, students, and parents said the state is not covering the almost $100 final exam fee that it does for other AP classes.
Arkansas Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva called some accusations of the lawsuit “a total lie.”
“The lawsuit falsely accuses ADE of not allowing students to participate in the AP African American Studies pilot program and stripped them from the benefits that the course provides – a total lie. The department advised schools they could offer local course credit to students who complete the pilot, and six schools participated. After discussions, College Board updated course framework and assured it does not violate Arkansas law. The department approved the course for the 24-25 school year and will continue to work with districts to ensure courses offered to students do not violate Arkansas state law.”
ADE Secretary Jacob Oliva
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin also chimed in through a statement.
“The LEARNS Act has brought much-needed reforms to Arkansas,” Griffin said. “I have successfully defended it from challenges before, and I am prepared to vigorously defend it again.”
Sadie Belle Reynolds attended school growing up in Africa and South America, where she was a minority white student. She said learning what people did in the past upholding slavery and preventing civil rights hasn’t shamed her or lessened her love of America. This law has struck a nerve though.
“It makes me like aggravated and confused on why someone would want to cover up someone’s perspective in a story and history, true history and it makes you think and not repeat the same problems in the future,” she said.
Confusion over AP African American Studies class in Arkansas on first day of school
The case will be heard in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas Central Division. No court dates have been set. A motion for preliminary injunction will be filed within the week to accelerate the process according to Laux.
READ THE FULL COMPLAINT
He claims some of the students’ speeches in class could broach the critical race theory topic so he is asking for a clear answer before then.
Mon, March 25, 2024
African American Studies students sue over Arkansas LEARNS Act ‘indoctrination’ section
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas LEARNS Act is being challenged in federal court by students and a teacher in the Little Rock School District and the state officials are not backing down.
Across the street from the historic Central High School Monday, the plaintiffs called section 16 of the law prohibiting “indoctrination” in Arkansas Schools unconstitutional and asked the court to immediately stop the state from enforcing it.
Arkansas public school students no longer receiving AMI days; how this is impacted by LEARNS Act
The law caused uncertainty for students taking AP African American Studies days before the 2023-2024 school year started because it was pulled from the course code before the course framework was altered to exclude critical race theory and address concerns in themes like “intersections of identity” and “resistance and resilience”.
“This course is just a way for me to learn another perspective,” Sadie Belle Reynolds argued.
Reynolds, a plaintiff and Central High School freshman taking AP African American Studies, is one of five plaintiffs including her mother, a classmate and her mother and the teacher of AP African American Studies Ruthie Walls.
“If we don’t be very careful, we’ll end up in the same awkward position we were years ago, and we have people to stand up and say no,” Walls said.
She and other plaintiffs in a 56-page lawsuit claim the LEARNS Act section on “Indoctrination” which calls out “Critical Race Theory” violates the First Amendment protections of free speech and the Fourteenth Amendment protections of equal protection under the law.
In a statement Monday Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded to the lawsuit.
“In the State of Arkansas, we will not indoctrinate our kids and teach them to hate America or each other,” she said. “It’s sad the radical left continues to lie and play political games with our kids’ futures.”
Arkansas Education Secretary sends letter to 5 school districts concerning AP African American Studies
Jennifer Reynolds, plaintiff, mother of a student taking African American Studies, said the class her daughter attends fosters understanding not division.
“I don’t really understand what is the boogeyman in all of this and what is the fear of the indoctrination,” Reynolds said.
Part of the lawsuit is for damages. Mike Laux, one of the attorneys representing the teacher, students, and parents said the state is not covering the almost $100 final exam fee that it does for other AP classes.
Arkansas Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva called some accusations of the lawsuit “a total lie.”
“The lawsuit falsely accuses ADE of not allowing students to participate in the AP African American Studies pilot program and stripped them from the benefits that the course provides – a total lie. The department advised schools they could offer local course credit to students who complete the pilot, and six schools participated. After discussions, College Board updated course framework and assured it does not violate Arkansas law. The department approved the course for the 24-25 school year and will continue to work with districts to ensure courses offered to students do not violate Arkansas state law.”
ADE Secretary Jacob Oliva
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin also chimed in through a statement.
“The LEARNS Act has brought much-needed reforms to Arkansas,” Griffin said. “I have successfully defended it from challenges before, and I am prepared to vigorously defend it again.”
Sadie Belle Reynolds attended school growing up in Africa and South America, where she was a minority white student. She said learning what people did in the past upholding slavery and preventing civil rights hasn’t shamed her or lessened her love of America. This law has struck a nerve though.
“It makes me like aggravated and confused on why someone would want to cover up someone’s perspective in a story and history, true history and it makes you think and not repeat the same problems in the future,” she said.
Confusion over AP African American Studies class in Arkansas on first day of school
The case will be heard in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas Central Division. No court dates have been set. A motion for preliminary injunction will be filed within the week to accelerate the process according to Laux.
READ THE FULL COMPLAINT
He claims some of the students’ speeches in class could broach the critical race theory topic so he is asking for a clear answer before then.
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