An Ohio school district is being sued for its attempt to ban “anti-racism” curriculum in schools. The suit filed Wednesday (June 29) by students and parents, accuses Forest Hills School District of encroaching upon the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and the Civil Rights Act.
Critical Race Theory is also banned from being taught. CRT is defined as a concept supporting that racism is embedded in the country’s infrastructure. In the last year, CRT has been a divisive topic spawning book bans and even increased tensions among political parties.
The 40-page suit comes on the heels of a district resolution to foster a “culture of kindness” for all student and teachers. It was approved by the board in a 3-2 vote last week. Parents, and a district teacher, believe the resolution does the complete opposite.
“This Resolution makes students of certain colors, races and identities and their families to not feel welcome,” said Sarah Updike, a district parent in the suit. “If this is not seen as a problem by our Board, that concerns me even more.”
The resolution goes as far as to state schools cannot force “individuals to admit privilege or oppression.” According to Census Reporter, the district’s student population is roughly 89 percent white, and only 4 percent Black.
“The Resolution’s vague, overbroad, race-based and viewpoint discriminatory provisions impermissibly invade upon, among other things, students’ First Amendment Right to receive information and free speech, educators’ First Amendment Right of free speech and academic freedom, and the Equal Protection Clause,” argue parents in the suit. Their ask is for the resolution to be deemed unconstitutional and unenforceable.
In a statement to WVXU radio station, said, “Forest Hills School District and the Board of Education have received the complaint and are reviewing it with legal counsel. FHSD has no further comment at this time.”