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Press Releases
CEA Statement on Critical Race Theory Content in Proposed Film Academy Ethnic Studies Course
Carlsbad, March 8, 2023 – Tonight the Carlsbad Unified School District (CUSD) Board of Trustees will again consider approving a controversial new curriculum entitled “Film Academy Ethnic Studies,” a course rejected last month for proposing to teach students about “repressive state apparatuses” which promote the “white Eurocentric dominant culture in America.” With considerable parent and community outrage, and now the interference of a Carlsbad City Council Member into the business of the school district, tonight’s meeting was moved to a larger venue and is expected to be contentious.
The “dominant/oppressed” concepts and references to “institutional racism” are part of Critical Race Theory (CRT), the widely rejected effort to rewrite American history as a country founded on white supremacy, slavery and imperialist efforts to oppress minorities. The concept of “systemic” or “institutional” racism, which is retained in the revised Ethnic Studies curriculum, teaches that the institutions of America – whether law enforcement, education or the justice system – are inherently racist by design and must therefore be abolished (similarly to the calls to abolish the police).
The discussion over the Ethnic Studies course has now been further inflamed by continued misrepresentations about the course and those opposed to the racist teachings of CRT. This now apparently includes Carlsbad City Council Member Priya Bhat-Patel, who supposedly emailed supporters to claim the CUSD Board “pandered to the demands of white supremacy” and an “anti-diversity push from a small group of parents,” despite opposition at the meeting from minorities and organizations like the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation.
Council Member Bhat-Patel’s comments were inflammatory, inaccurate and inappropriate for an elected official with no knowledge of the issue. CUSD Trustees previously rejected requests by Trustee Rallings to implement CRT into its curriculum, and affirmed to the public that it is not being used in CUSD. That will change if the CRT-based Ethnic Studies curriculum is approved.
CEA supports the teaching of Constructive Ethnic Studies as intended by the California Legislature – without labeling children as “oppressors” of their minority classmates based on the color of their skin. CRT contradicts the primary goal of Ethnic Studies, which is to build understanding and appreciation of the contribution of minority cultures. Its inclusion in any curriculum will only serve to further divide our Carlsbad community and our schools.
Statement on Superintendent's Violation of Constitutional Rights
Carlsbad, May 22, 2023 – The Carlsbad Education Alliance is extremely dismayed by the biased and bigoted statement of Carlsbad Unified School District (CUSD) Superintendent Benjamin Churchill against a CUSD employee, in clear violation of that employee’s fundamental right to free speech and freedom of religion under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. We demand that Superintendent Churchill immediately retract the statement and ensure that CUSD is a safe space for all employees, students and parents.
Superintendent Churchill’s statement also deliberately misrepresents the comments by the employee as not supportive of LGBTQ+ students when the employee’s statements specifically asked that members share their message “in love” and “from a place of concern for our kids.” The employee’s statements are therefore not in conflict with any state law or district policy.
A Superintendent condemning the speech and religious views of an employee not only violates that employee’s constitutional rights, it additionally places a chilling effect on the speech of all staff, students and parents in CUSD that speech or religious values which the Superintendent personally disagrees with will be publicly condemned.
Ironically, tomorrow CUSD is hosting a series of town halls to discuss its proposed “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Plan,” of which a core principle is building “diverse and inclusive environments by fostering the development of trusted relationship with staff and the community.” Sadly, Superintendent Churchill’s biased and bigoted statement condemning the religious beliefs of an entire church and its members shows exactly why these DEI plans are simply excuses for those in power to suppress speech and decrease diversity and inclusion in public schools.
Superintendent Churchill’s statement not only places CUSD in immediate legal jeopardy for violating the employee’s rights, but potentially in far greater legal jeopardy for attempting to suppress the speech of any employee or student in CUSD which differs from his own. The Carlsbad Education Alliance demands an immediate retraction and apology by Superintendent Churchill and is considering all possible legal remedies to protect the rights of all employees, parents and students at CUSD.
Carlsbad Skips Community Input in Rush to Approve DEI Plan
Carlsbad, June 21, 2023 – The Carlsbad Unified School District (CUSD) is preparing for another packed and contentious Board Meeting tonight after the Superintendent eliminated a planned review of community input on the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Plan to instead push the Board for immediate approval. Superintendent Benjamin Churchill was already in hot water after he publicly attacked the religious views of a CUSD Vice Principal shared during a church meeting about the DEI Plan, prompting a Special Board Meeting on June 6th to discuss CUSD’s “significant exposure to litigation” for violating the Vice Principal’s First Amendment rights.
Over 650 people attended the DEI “Listen & Learn Sessions” on May 23rd, where the District explained that a draft DEI Plan would be presented on June 21st for “review and discussion,” after which the Board would then “determine the timeline for finalizing and adopting the plan.” Despite 53 pages of feedback and over 400 comments asking for transparency, the Agenda for tonight’s meeting simply asks the Board to “approve the draft plan.”
The Superintendent’s controversial conduct doesn’t end there. The Carlsbad Education Alliance has now uncovered a shocking social media post from a CUSD Principal endorsing the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and equating the phrase “Make America Great Again” with “Covert White Supremacy,” a post which was liked by Superintendent Churchill. Despite CUSD’s claim that CRT is not taught in CUSD, the Superintendent attempted to gain Board approval for a CRT-based Ethnic Studies course in February and tonight is proposing that the DEI Plan include $85,000 in funding for the “No Place for Hate” Program, which was recently exposed for pushing antisemitic, CRT-inspired beliefs.
CEA continues to oppose the DEI Plan as ineffective, wasteful and harmful due its origins in CRT. For CUSD to truly achieve diversity, equity and inclusion, the first step is new leadership with a commitment to transparency, respect for diverse views and a focus on its core mission of providing an extraordinary education.
CEA Files Letter of Opposition to New California Department of Education Math Framework
Carlsbad, July 7, 2023 – Today the Carlsbad Education Alliance (CEA) submitted a formal letter to the California Department of Education opposing the new mathematics framework. Our formal statement is below:
July 7, 2023
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, California 95814
Via Online Submission
Re: Item 11 – Adoption of the 2023 Mathematics Framework
Dear Trustees,
The Carlsbad Education Alliance (CEA) is a coalition of parents, students and staff in the Carlsbad Unified School District committed to transparency, accountability and academic excellence. CEA opposes the new Mathematics Framework developed by the California Department of Education (CDE), Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), and State Board of Education (SBE). The CDE website states that this framework will provide “...guidance designed to help educators align classroom teaching with California’s rigorous math learning standards.” Yet, the rigorous standards referred to by the CDE have failed to produce passing scores on national standardized math tests taken by California students, and California continues to rank in the bottom quartile. Additionally, on California’s own Smarter Balanced state assessment, only 33% of students met or exceeded math proficiency standards last year. This is a failure on every level for California’s students.
The newly proposed Mathematics Framework should focus solely on teaching math. Time and instruction on side issues like identity, equity and social justice do not have a place in California’s failing math curriculum. Those topics will not improve scores on state-wide and nation-wide standardized tests. As educators, it is your job to advise and implement instruction based on proven techniques and facts, not theories and ideologies that are untested and unproven in reputable journals or publications.
We urge you to do better for California’s students. Reject any and all components of the framework that do not solely contribute to creating a curriculum that will enable the majority of our students to pass standardized state and national tests. It’s quite simple. Just teach math.
Sincerely,
Scott Davison
Director, Carlsbad Education Alliance