Court upholds Arkansas' school indoctrination bans
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Arkansas' bans on critical race theory instruction and "indoctrination" in schools held up in court this week.
The big picture: A three-judge panel from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the bans do not violate students' free speech rights because the government can lawfully dictate what is taught in schools, the Arkansas Advocate reported.
Zoom in: Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' sweeping education law, the LEARNS Act of 2023, includes a section on "prohibited indoctrination."
- It's defined as communication by a public school employee or guest speaker that compels a person to adopt, affirm or profess an idea that people of a legally protected group like race, sex or religion are inherently superior or inferior or that people of a protected group should be discriminated against.
- The law specifically calls critical race theory "prohibited indoctrination."
Context: Critical race theory holds that racism is baked into the formation of the nation and ingrained in the U.S. legal, financial and education systems, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. It was developed in law schools in the late 1970s and early 1980s and does not teach that members of any race, group, religion or nationality are superior.
- Some scholars argue that race-based policies, like affirmative action, or those that take race into account, like redistricting protections, are needed to address racial inequity.
Flashback: U.S. District Court Judge Lee Rudofsky temporarily halted implementation of the indoctrination section of LEARNS from going into effect in May 2024.
- Arkansas officials appealed the preliminary injunction, arguing free speech protections don't mean students can demand that public schools teach certain topics, the Arkansas Advocate reported.
What they're saying: The First Amendment right to receive information doesn't authorize a court to require the state to retain curriculum materials or instruction, even if information was removed for political reasons the Arkansas Advocate reported.
- "Since the speech belongs to the government, it gets to control what it says," according to the ruling. Arkansas Advocate reported.