Texas AG sues Coppell ISD after conservative activist video claims district teaches critical race theory

The Texas attorney general is suing Coppell ISD, alleging the district is teaching critical race theory.

Why it matters: The state's top conservative leaders want to eliminate teachings about race and personal identity in general.

• The anti-CRT push is part of the broader goal to give parents more control over what their children learn in school.

Driving the news: Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the lawsuit Wednesday, saying Texas students deserve to "not have woke ideology forced upon them."

• The lawsuit stems from a heavily edited video posted by conservative media group Accuracy in Media that shows a Coppell school administrator saying the district doesn't always follow state standards on certain topics.

State of play: The lawsuit says the Coppell school district's curriculum is violating a 2021 state law that bans kindergarten through 12th grade students from being taught critical race theory, a college-level topic that says racism is baked into U.S. history.

Zoom out: President Trump issued an executive order in January to stop "indoctrination in K-12 education."

• The order says teaching white privilege or unconscious bias "actually promotes racial discrimination."

Zoom in: The video shows an interviewer saying he's concerned students will "learn a MAGA version of history instead of an accurate version of real-world events."

• The school administrator responds, "One thing that I love about this district, despite what our state standards say and despite what, you know, is going on, we do what's right for kids."

Reality check: The video was posted Feb. 25, but it's unclear when it was recorded. The administrator wears a protective face mask during the conversation, and the interviewer refers to orders signed by the governor "a few months ago."

• The interviewer doesn't mention critical race theory, but the video's text says the discussion was about the topic. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill banning CRT in June 2021.
• Coppell ISD is closed this week for spring break, and a district spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The intrigue: The video ends with text that says, "Enacting universal school choice is the only way to reform education in Texas."

• The Texas Legislature is again considering school choice vouchers enabling families to use state money to pay for private school tuition or homeschooling.

The big picture: Passing a statewide voucher program is a top priority for the governor.

• The measure failed during the last legislative session. During last year's primaries, Abbott targeted fellow Republicans who opposed vouchers.

Context: The Senate has approved Senate Bill 2, giving families $10,000 a year per student to fund tuition at an accredited private school.

• The program is estimated to cost Texas $1 billion in fiscal year 2027.
• House Bill 3 would put $1 billion toward education savings accounts.

Threat level: Critics of school vouchers say the programs pull money from the public education system and fund wealthy people's private school tuition.

The other side: Proponents say vouchers help lower-income students attend better schools rather than their underperforming local campuses. They also say the funding enables parents to make the best choice for their kids.

• "Families should not have to pay twice — once in taxes for a system that may not meet their child's needs, and again, for tuition, for the education they truly want," Brian Archer, an administrator for Joshua Christian Academy, testified last week in Austin.