In a significant legal development, a federal judge has struck down Arkansas’s ban on two high school teachers from discussing critical race theory (CRT) in their classrooms.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky issued the preliminary ruling on Tuesday, May 7, opposing one of the measures enacted by Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders last year, which aimed to prohibit the indoctrination or CRT in schools. The judge’s decision highlights the lack of clarity in Arkansas’s ban on critical race theory, as reported by AP.
Rudofsky’s comprehensive 50-page ruling emphasized that the law does not “prevent classroom instruction that teaches, uses, or refers to any theory, idea, or ideology.” The ruling came as a response to the legal challenge brought forth by two teachers and two students from Little Rock Central High School, a historic institution known for its pivotal role in the desegregation of schools in the United States.
While the ruling does place certain limitations on the state’s ban on indoctrination in public schools, it’s not absolute.
Rudofsky wrote that the ban aims to “give comfort to teachers across the state (and to their students) that Section 16 does not prohibit teachers from teaching about, using, or referring to critical race theory or any other theory, ideology, or idea so long as the teachers do not compel their students to accept as valid such theory, ideology, or idea.”
Crucially, teachers are still prohibited from assessing students based on their acceptance or rejection of a particular theory. Both the teachers’ and the state of Arkansas’s legal representatives welcomed the ruling and its implications for the future of the CRT ban.
Mike Laux, an attorney representing the teachers and students said, “We are very happy that the court has acknowledged that the plaintiffs have brought colorable constitutional claims forward. With this notch in our belt, we look forward to prosecuting this incredibly important case going forward.”
Arkansas is among several states with Republican leadership that have implemented restrictions on discussing race and racism in educational settings, including prohibitions on teaching critical race theory.
Little Rock Central High School gained national prominence in September 1957 when nine African American students bravely integrated the school, facing significant opposition from the local community and state authorities.
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