The Resolution on Racism that the board passed on August 20, 2020 included the tenets and language of racially-divisive Critical Race Theory and other woke activism. As such, it did not represent the values of the Francis Howell parents and community. It has been discovered that activist educators have used the CRT-enabling language of the resolution as justification for including CRT concepts into teaching materials and curriculum discussions. Francis Howell Families propose revising and replacing this resolution with a new resolution that opposes discrimination of all kinds, including CRT, and that promotes our founding values, racial harmony, equality, and goodwill.
Resolution
In Response to Racial Division and Discrimination
The Francis Howell School District Board of Education pledges to our learning community that we will speak firmly against any discrimination and senseless violence against people regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or ability. We are pro-human and promote compassion rooted in intrinsic human worth. We recognize the unalienable individual natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We are committed to creating a system of equal opportunity and equal access that honors and elevates all in fairness and understanding.
In order to accomplish these ideals, the FHSD Board of Education commits to the following:
The FHSD Board of Education stands firmly against all acts of racial discrimination, including the act of promoting tenets of the racially-divisive Critical Race Theory, labels of white privilege, enforced equity of outcomes, identity politics, intersectionalism, and Marxism.
FHSD staff and consultants shall not imply that any racial group is more prone to holding racial prejudice or bias than others. There shall be no stereotyping to regulate racial groups based on the actions or performance of an individual in that group. We will not tolerate having a different set of rules for language or conduct applied to individuals based on skin color, ancestry, or other immutable characteristics.
FHSD will inspire each individual student to learn and grow to the best of their ability. Success looks like every student being encouraged, supported, and academically challenged enough to become the best version of themselves.
FHSD commits to building unity as equal citizens under the Constitution. As a school board and district, we value each and every student, family, and staff member.
We embrace our organizational responsibility to ensure that the principles of equal opportunity are integrated into the culture, curriculum, policies, programs, operations, and practices of the FHSD district.
The FHSD Board of Education hereby declares that racial discrimination and neo-Marxist CRT are proscribed, as they negatively impact students, families, community, and staff; the Board hereby declares its commitment to establishing, supporting, and sustaining a culture of racial harmony and goodwill districtwide.
Proposed Aug 20, 2021 by Francis Howell Families
The Francis Howell Board of Education
This will supersede the FHSD Resolution adopted Aug 20, 2020.
You can download a copy of the proposed replacement resolution here.