FIX EXCLUSIVES
‘We cannot perpetuate a lie to our students and push this propaganda leftist agenda,’ Arkansas governor says
A federal appeals court overruled a decision blocking parts of Arkansas’ ban on teaching forms of “indoctrination” — including Critical Race Theory — allowing the state government to regulate the curriculum of public schools to avoid teaching discriminatory subjects.
The July 16 ruling was decided by a three-judge panel, vacating an earlier preliminary injunction.
The complaint was filed on behalf of two Arkansas students who alleged the ban violates their free speech rights since it means teachers cannot provide them instruction or classroom materials about Critical Race Theory. It was filed with support from the Arkansas State Conference NAACP, the ACLU, and several state and national teachers unions.
But since “the Free Speech Clause does not give the students the right to compel the government to say something it does not wish to, they cannot show a likelihood of success,” the Eighth Circuit appeals court ruled.
The January 2023 executive order that prompted the controversy was issued by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to ensure schools are in line with federal civil rights laws, stating Critical Race Theory “is antithetical to the traditional American values of neutrality, equality, and fairness. It emphasizes skin color as a person’s primary characteristic, thereby resurrecting segregationist values, which America has fought so hard to reject.”
The decision, written by Judge Leonard Steven Grasz, stated “the Free Speech Clause does not allow students to compel the government to provide certain classroom materials or instruction in its public schools” and “since the speech belongs to the government, it gets to control what it says.”
It was originally challenged by two students and two teachers from Little Rock Central High School, site of the “Little Rock Nine” during the 1957 desegregation crisis. They claimed “the Nation’s future depends on leaders with wide exposure to robust exchange of ideas” and teachers free to teach academic subjects using their specialized training.
Gov. Sanders’ executive order was later incorporated into the LEARNS Act, an effort to reform public education in Arkansas. It focuses on improving literacy, empowerment, accountability, readiness, networking, and school safety throughout the state.
Like the executive order preceding it, the act bars teachers from “promoting” material and communication “that would indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory.”
But the plaintiffs argued these unilateral bans are overly vague and undermine academic freedom, especially regarding the “history of racism.”
The plaintiffs also allege that students are dissuaded from taking classes such as AP African American Studies, which focuses on the complex history of a certain racial and ethnic group.
Gov. Sanders, when discussing the subject on Fox News in August 2023, backed her decision by saying “we cannot perpetuate a lie to our students and push this propaganda leftist agenda … it’s one of the reasons that we put into law banning things like indoctrination and CRT.”
The challenge was initially heard before a U.S. district judge, who ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, allowing teachers to teach topics that could be classified as Critical Race Theory.
In a statement to The College Fix, the American Parents Coalition Executive Director Alleigh Marré said that “Schools should provide students with the foundational knowledge and skills to thrive in the world — strong literacy, math, science, and critical thinking abilities. In recent years, however, we’ve seen a troubling shift away from academic excellence toward ideologically driven content.”
“Critical race theory and other activist-inspired curriculum introduces complex, politically charged theories into classrooms at the expense of instructional time that should be spent improving student performance,” she said. “Our priority must be academic recovery—not ideological re-education. Students deserve an education grounded in facts, not filtered through political lenses.”
In late January, President Trump signed a similar executive order which “will enforce the law to ensure that recipients of Federal funds providing K-12 education comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination in various contexts.”
The College Fix contacted the Laux Law Group, which represents the plaintiffs, and did not receive a response. University of Arkansas Professor Stephen Caldwell, who has been an outspoken critic of Republican efforts to clamp down on educators’ rights, also did not respond to a request for comment.
MORE: ‘Indoctrinating’: U. Oklahoma’s mandatory critical race theory course may violate state law
IMAGE CAPTION & CREDIT: Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders / YouTube screenshot
