Missouri Attorney General Investigation Uncovers Systemically Racist Curricula, Intrusive Surveys In Public SchoolsBy: Joy Pullmann June 08, 2022
Today the Missouri attorney general announced subpoenas of seven school districts in response to parent complaints of racist instruction and intrusive surveys administered to their children allegedly without prior parental notice. AG Eric Schmitt’s office also posted Wednesday a public database ofopen records investigations into 49 Missouri school districtsthat uncovered the systemic abuse of public schooling for political purposes.
The investigation uncovers Missouri public schools forcing students to participate in exercises that shame children for their skin color and teaching that races are inherently unequal, which violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.Schmitt found such instances in 21 percent of Missouri’s 226 school districtsafter only two months of investigating, indicating the problems are much more widespread. Parents can submit more complaints to Schmitt’s office here.
The newly public records document Missouri public schools forcing students to participate in a “privilege walk” in Saint Charles County’s Wentzville School District, shaming “whiteness” in teacher training in Saint Louis County’s Rockwood School District, and applying a Marxist or feminist “lens” to reading assignments at Hickman High School in Boone County.
In the Webster Groves School District in the Saint Louis suburbs, second graders were required to answer, “When is the first time you noticed that people can be different races from you?” etc. according to documentation the legal nonprofit Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF).
Schmitt’s spokesman said the subpoenas are intended to help evaluate if the districts followed state laws. If not, the subpoenas could lead to lawsuits, Chris Nuelle said: “Once we obtain more information, all legal options are on the table.”
Statewide Investigation into ‘Equity’ IndustrySchmitt’s office also announced subpoenas as part of its investigations into “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) initiatives in Missouri public schools. He also is investigating a privateDEI consultancy, Educational Equity Consultants, that contracts with many Missouri public schools.
Like parents nationwide, parents across Missouri have raised alarms about public school political extremism after school lockdowns let them see into their children’s classrooms. SLF asked Schmitt to investigate several parent complaints about Webster Groves surveys they found alarming. The parents came to SLF for help after they found the district unresponsive, said SLF Litigation Director Braden Boucek.
“The parents they felt they were being stonewalled through this entire process,” andthese parents found out about this after the fact, and any time a parent would go to the school district and say, ‘This is wildly inappropriate,’ the school district would make it difficult for them to find out what was on these surveys.”
According to SLF’s letter, Webster Groves High Schoolrequired all students to answer “mental health” surveys every week. The surveys may require self-incrimination on sensitive topics including sexuality, race, political views, and their parents’ behavior at home: “Notably, WGSD conducts these surveys without seeking prior written consent from the students’ parents, and in many instances, it appears that the identity of the student is not anonymous,” the SLF letter says. Project Wayfinder questions at Webster Groves High School, issued weekly, according to the Southeastern Legal Foundation.
Systemically Racist Schooling a National Problem: Boucek said incidents like these are “not isolated” either in Missouri or nationwide, the AG we’ve been flooded with people who are trying to share their stories.”
The vendors the schools bought some of the surveys from,Panorama Education and Project Wayfinder, sell to districts across the United States. Panorama has sold its wares to approximately 1,500 school districts nationwide, according to Influence Watch. Also according to Influence Watch,Project Wayfinder’s cofounder is the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s son-in-law, and the company received startup funds from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
..documented Panorama products pushing critical race theory in public schools. A 2020 statement, the company proclaimed, “We commit to dismantling systemic racism, we commit to embodying and spreading anti-racist practices.” Between 2017 and 2020, Panorama made at least $27 million from public school districts in 21 states, according to an OpenBooks.org….
https://thefederalist.com/2022/06/08/missouri-attorney-general-investigation-uncovers-systemically-racist-curricula-intrusive-surveys-in-public-schools/