LINCOLN — Some Nebraska lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the State Department of Education, alleging that the department provided materials to teachers promoting critical race theory through a state website.
Omaha World-Herald State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil calls for an investigation into the Nebraska Department of Education on Monday. Behind him, from left, are Sens. Myron Dorn, Steve Erdman, Steve Halloran and Robert Clements. A department spokesman said there’s no evidence the material in question was ever used in any Nebraska public schools.
The allegations centered on one document, titled "Winning Racial Justice In Our Schools," by the Education Justice Research and Organizing Collaborative at New York University.
The document never was directly available on the website in question, Launch Nebraska, and is not currently accessible through the site.
State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, the lead lawmaker calling for the investigation, said, however, that it serves as evidence that the department has "gone off the rails."
"Bureaucrats at the Nebraska Department of Education have decided Nebraska children would be better served if their time was spent learning to become activists and talking about woke gender theory," Murman said.
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Murman was joined at a Monday press conference by Sens. Steve Erdman, Steve Halloran, Myron Dorn and Robert Clements. He also read statements of support from Sens. Lou Ann Linehan and Rita Sanders.
"Parents, not educators, are responsible for teaching their children," Erdman said.
Murman, a member of the Nebraska Education Committee, said the committee likely will lead the investigation, which may not begin until after the midterm elections or even after the next legislative session begins next year. He said the investigation will look into potential misconduct by the department, what state resources or taxpayer dollars were used and what legislative solutions are available to "restore the dignity and trust" in the department.
Murman didn't specify what outcomes he wants from the investigation, but referenced other states that have passed laws banning teaching critical race theory, and requests to eliminate the department entirely.
Although Murman said the document proves the department was promoting critical race theory for "at least a full school year," Department of Education spokesman David Jespersen countered that it was accessible for only a few months at most.
Launch Nebraska originated early in the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to help state educators transition back into the classroom, Jespersen said. The document never was linked directly on the website. Instead, it was accessible by clicking a link to a different website, called the Culturally Responsible Education Hub, which at one point had a link to the document.
Jespersen said the department was not aware that the document was indirectly available through the website until early this summer, when Gov. Pete Ricketts' office reached out with concerns. Jespersen said department officials agreed the material wasn't appropriate for the site and took down the link. He said there's no evidence the material was ever used in any Nebraska public schools.
“The Senators that held this press conference never reached out to discuss or address their concerns," Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt said in an emailed statement. "Instead, the first this was raised as a concern was through a media site that never verified the information through the NDE, and only reached out for comment within an hour of publishing.”
News of the investigation first broke on the Daily Caller, a conservative news site founded by Fox News personality Tucker Carlson. The report referred to the Launch Nebraska site as "a resource for promoting Critical Race Theory (CRT) and other left-wing tropes such as 'anti-racism.'"
Murman said he has staff who had worked in the Governor's Office who made him aware of the material. Though he has known about it since this summer, he said, he wanted to do more research.
"We got it up there as soon as we felt comfortable discussing it," he said.
Murman acknowledged that the document was never directly linked on the website, but he said the state still made the material available to educators, and that is cause for concern.
Launch Nebraska still includes language encouraging educators to "cultivate high-trust classroom environments through Culturally Responsive Education." Jespersen said that's because research has shown that students of color were disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Although people have differing interpretations of it, a central tenet of critical race theory is the assertion that the laws and legal institutions in the U.S. are inherently racist and advantage White people over other races, particularly African Americans. Adherents say the theory is a framework or lens for understanding race in history and society to help illuminate a pathway to improving the country.
Halloran said he thinks the Culturally Responsive Education label is just a thinly veiled disguise to hide the continued promotion of critical race theory.
"We can put lipstick on the pig, but it's still CRT," Halloran said.
Murman connected what he said was the department's promotion of critical race theory to the decline in the state's average ACT scores, which have dropped to the lowest level in at least a decade. Jespersen said he thinks the falling scores have more to do with the effects of the pandemic than anything else, but noted that compared to the average ACT scores of other states that test at least 90% of their graduates, Nebraska ranked second.
