AUSTIN, Texas (KXXV) — Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against a North Texas school district for allegedly violating state laws by teaching critical race theory (CRT).
The lawsuit is against Coppell Independent School District (ISD) officials—and follows the release of a video in which Evan Whitfield, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Coppell ISD, discusses how the district circumvented state prohibitions on CRT in curricula by claiming they were not teaching it. Whitfield states that “despite what our state standards say,” Coppell ISD does “what’s right.”
When asked if teachers could close their doors and teach “what’s right,” Whitfield responded, “Shh, that’s what we do.” He also boasted about using the “Next Generation Science Standards” curriculum, which the State Board of Education has not approved. He mentioned textbooks with similar environmental education approaches that had been rejected.
“Liberal administrators who seek to bypass state law and push divisive, racist CRT in classrooms will be held accountable,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Texas children deserve an excellent education, not to have woke ideology imposed on them. My lawsuit seeks to stop this illegal, harmful curriculum and end the blatant disregard for state law by officials at Coppell ISD.”
