RESOLUTION TO CREATE A CULTURE OF KINDNESS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF
WHEREAS, the Board of Education (BOE) of Forest Hills Local School District (FHSD), resolves to declare its official opposition to the use of race-based and/or identity-based training, curricula, and methodology in public education; and
WHEREAS, EdWeek.com identifies the core idea of Critical Race Theory as racism being “a social construct” “that it is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies”; and
WHEREAS, the SWiFT Education Center observes that “Intersectionality, a concept defined by Kimberle Crenshaw (1989), describes the social, economic, and political ways in which identity-based systems of oppression connect, overlap, and influence on another”; and
WHEREAS, Ohio Administrative Code 3301-32-10-24 provides that the policies and procedures for school programs governed by the Ohio Department of Education shall include a provision that such programs shall be nondiscriminatory “in providing services to children and their families on the basis of race, religion, cultural heritage, political beliefs, disability, or marital status”; and
WHEREAS, FHSD policy code po1422, Nondiscrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity, includes the following provision: “The Board of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, military status, ancestry, genetic information, or any other legally protected category, in its programs and activities, including employment opportunities”; and
WHEREAS, FHSD policy code po2240, Controversial Issues, includes the following provisions: “A controversial issue may be the following: (1) any problem that society is in the process of debating, (2) any problem for which more than one solution is being supported, or (3) any issue that may arouse strong emotions. These issues may be a part of the instructional program only when they are germane to the subject being taught and only after consideration has been given to the age and maturity of the students. No individual may impose personal views on the students, and a balance must be maintained through the presentation of all sides of an issue”; and
WHEREAS, Public education, properly designed, includes age-appropriate exposure to history, philosophies, and structures which comprise that American experience. Pertinent instruction regarding history of racism and inequality in America should not purport to deliberately undermine race groups, student/family values, religious beliefs, or founding principles; and
WHEREAS, Public educators are not authorized to endorse or proselytize on behalf of a specific perspective on any areas of faith, civil rights, economics, international affairs, sociology or politics; and
WHEREAS, Critical Race Theory (CRT), anti-racism, and all related euphemistic surrogates should similarly not be advocated in any form, in FHSD’s curricula or staff training; and
WHEREAS, FHSD schools and teachers are expected to provide a comprehensive education on America’s history that neither sanitized its past, nor denies the possibility of moral progress; and
WHEREAS, FHSD partners with parents to assist in their responsibility to education their children in accordance with the principle that America is a nation founded on the premise that all men and women are created equal complemented by the Civil Rights Acts as well as federal and state laws and Constitutional provisions that address the enforcement of Civil Rights, equal protection and equal opportunity.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS: FHSD will not utilize Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, identity, or anti-racism curriculum, for student education or any staff training. With this statement, FHSD reiterates that:
BE IT ALSO RESOLVED: FHSD, as a whole, will embrace and implement a culture of kindness and equal opportunity for all students and staff. Nothing in these resolutions shall be construed to restrict any expressive activities protected under the Constitution generally or the First Amendment to the United States Constitution specifically, including but not limited to academic freedom or student political speech.
WHEREAS, EdWeek.com identifies the core idea of Critical Race Theory as racism being “a social construct” “that it is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies”; and
WHEREAS, the SWiFT Education Center observes that “Intersectionality, a concept defined by Kimberle Crenshaw (1989), describes the social, economic, and political ways in which identity-based systems of oppression connect, overlap, and influence on another”; and
WHEREAS, Ohio Administrative Code 3301-32-10-24 provides that the policies and procedures for school programs governed by the Ohio Department of Education shall include a provision that such programs shall be nondiscriminatory “in providing services to children and their families on the basis of race, religion, cultural heritage, political beliefs, disability, or marital status”; and
WHEREAS, FHSD policy code po1422, Nondiscrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity, includes the following provision: “The Board of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, military status, ancestry, genetic information, or any other legally protected category, in its programs and activities, including employment opportunities”; and
WHEREAS, FHSD policy code po2240, Controversial Issues, includes the following provisions: “A controversial issue may be the following: (1) any problem that society is in the process of debating, (2) any problem for which more than one solution is being supported, or (3) any issue that may arouse strong emotions. These issues may be a part of the instructional program only when they are germane to the subject being taught and only after consideration has been given to the age and maturity of the students. No individual may impose personal views on the students, and a balance must be maintained through the presentation of all sides of an issue”; and
WHEREAS, Public education, properly designed, includes age-appropriate exposure to history, philosophies, and structures which comprise that American experience. Pertinent instruction regarding history of racism and inequality in America should not purport to deliberately undermine race groups, student/family values, religious beliefs, or founding principles; and
WHEREAS, Public educators are not authorized to endorse or proselytize on behalf of a specific perspective on any areas of faith, civil rights, economics, international affairs, sociology or politics; and
WHEREAS, Critical Race Theory (CRT), anti-racism, and all related euphemistic surrogates should similarly not be advocated in any form, in FHSD’s curricula or staff training; and
WHEREAS, FHSD schools and teachers are expected to provide a comprehensive education on America’s history that neither sanitized its past, nor denies the possibility of moral progress; and
WHEREAS, FHSD partners with parents to assist in their responsibility to education their children in accordance with the principle that America is a nation founded on the premise that all men and women are created equal complemented by the Civil Rights Acts as well as federal and state laws and Constitutional provisions that address the enforcement of Civil Rights, equal protection and equal opportunity.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS: FHSD will not utilize Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, identity, or anti-racism curriculum, for student education or any staff training. With this statement, FHSD reiterates that:
- Schools may not use race, socioeconomic class, religion, gender identity, sex, ethnicity, or culture as a consideration when hiring or administering academic programs or evaluation systems.
- Neither schools, nor instructors or guest speakers, shall have student participate in class or complete assignments that require, guide, or nudge the student to consider his or her race, socioeconomic class, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual preference, ethnicity, or culture as a deficiency or a label to stereotype the student as having certain biases, prejudices or other unsavory moral characteristics or beliefs based on these immutable characteristics.
- Schools shall not discipline differently on the basis of race, socioeconomic class, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual preference, ethnicity, or culture.
- Schools shall not engage in stereotyping based upon race, socioeconomic class, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual preference, ethnicity, or culture, including ascribing character traits, values, moral and ethical codes, privileges, status, or belief.
- Schools shall not force individuals to admit privilege or oppression, or to “reflect,” “deconstruct,” or “confront” their identities based on race, socioeconomic class, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual preference, ethnicity, or culture.
BE IT ALSO RESOLVED: FHSD, as a whole, will embrace and implement a culture of kindness and equal opportunity for all students and staff. Nothing in these resolutions shall be construed to restrict any expressive activities protected under the Constitution generally or the First Amendment to the United States Constitution specifically, including but not limited to academic freedom or student political speech.
| Resolution to Create a Culture of Kindness and Equal Opportunity for All Students and Staff.pdf |
