NATIONAL NEWS

Arkansas cannot prevent 2 teachers from discussing critical race theory in classroom, judge rules

May 8, 2024, 10:40 AM

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled Arkansas cannot prevent two high school teachers from discussing critical race theory in the classroom, but stopped short of more broadly blocking the state from enforcing its ban on “indoctrination” in public schools.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky issued a narrow preliminary injunction Tuesday evening against the ban, one of several changes adopted under an education overhaul that Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law last year.

The prohibition is being challenged by two teachers and two students at Little Rock Central High School, site of the 1957 desegregation crisis.

In his 50-page ruling, Rudofsky said the state’s arguments make it clear the law doesn’t outright “prevent classroom instruction that teaches, uses, or refers to any theory, idea, or ideology.”

His ruling prohibited the state from disciplining the teachers for teaching, mentioning or discussing critical race theory — an academic framework dating to the 1970s that centers on the idea that racism is embedded in the nation’s institution. The theory is not a fixture of K-12 education, and Arkansas’ ban does not define what constitutes critical race theory.

Rudofsky said although his ruling was narrow, it “should 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.”

Rudofsky said his decision still would bar the teachers from taking steps such as grading on the basis on whether a student accepts or rejects a theory or giving preferential treatment to students on whether they accept a theory.

Both the state and attorneys for the teachers claimed the ruling as an initial victory in ongoing litigation over the law.

“We are very happy that the court has acknowledged that the plaintiffs have brought colorable constitutional claims forward,” said Mike Laux, an attorney for the teachers and students who filed suit. “With this notch in our belt, we look forward to prosecuting this incredibly important case going forward.”

David Hinojosa, director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law — also representing the plaintiffs in the case — said the ruling “has essentially gutted Arkansas’ classroom censorship law to render the law virtually meaningless.”

Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin said the ruling “merely prohibits doing what Arkansas was never doing in the first place.”

“Today’s decision confirms what I’ve said all along. Arkansas law doesn’t prohibit teaching the history of segregation, the civil rights movement, or slavery,” Griffin said in a statement.

The lawsuit stems from the state’s decision that an Advanced Placement course on African American Studies would not count toward state credit during the 2023-2024 school year. The teachers’ lawsuit argues the state’s ban is so vague that it forces them to self-censor what they teach to avoid running afoul of it.

Arkansas is among several Republican-led states that have placed restrictions on how race is taught in the classroom, including prohibitions on critical race theory. Tennessee educators filed a similar lawsuit last year challenging that state’s sweeping bans on teaching certain concepts of race, gender and bias in classroom.

National News

FILE - Janelle Bynum, the Democratic candidate running to represent Oregon's 5th Congressional Dist...

Associated Press

Democrat Janelle Bynum flips Oregon’s 5th District, will be state’s first Black member of Congress

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Democrat Janelle Bynum has flipped Oregon’s 5th Congressional District and will become the state’s first Black member of Congress. Bynum, a state representative who was backed and funded by national Democrats, ousted freshman GOP U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Republicans lost a seat that they flipped red for the first time in […]

7 minutes ago

FILE- Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Ranking Member Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speak...

Associated Press

Rand Paul wants to bring back Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy as a Senate chair

Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said Thursday that he will lead the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he intends to immediately take up President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to reinstate a policy requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. Paul said he will be the committee’s new chair […]

13 minutes ago

FILE — Teachers and supporters display placards during a rally, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Glouces...

Associated Press

2 striking teacher unions in Massachusetts face growing fines for refusing to return to classroom

BOSTON (AP) — Two of the three striking teacher unions in Massachusetts have been fined for refusing to return to the classroom. Judges on Tuesday imposed fines of $50,000 a day for the unions in Beverly and Gloucester that would rise by $10,000 a day as long as they remain on strike. The unions voted […]

15 minutes ago

Associated Press

AP Race Call: Democrat Janelle Bynum wins election to U.S. House in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, beating incumbent Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Democrat Janelle Bynum won election to a U.S. House seat representing Oregon on Thursday, defeating Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer. The district, which includes the Portland suburbs and stretches through Bend, was a top target for Democrats hoping to recapture the House majority. Democrats lost this seat in 2022, when Jamie McLeod-Skinner defeated seven-term Democratic Rep. […]

21 minutes ago

FILE - Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., arrives during the second day of the Republican National Convention...

Associated Press

What Republicans are saying about Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s nomination to be President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general has created a remarkable amount of pushback from Republicans otherwise inclined to follow Trump’s wishes. Gaetz is unpopular with many fellow House Republicans for his push to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a long trail of stories about his personal conduct, including […]

30 minutes ago

Associated Press

Advocacy group sues Tennessee over racial requirements for medical boards

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A nonprofit dedicated to opposing diversity initiatives in medicine has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the requirements surrounding the racial makeup of key medical boards in Tennessee. The Virginia-based Do No Harm filed the lawsuit earlier this month, marking the second legal battle the group has launched in the Volunteer State […]

43 minutes ago

Arkansas cannot prevent 2 teachers from discussing critical race theory in classroom, judge rules