Atlanta Public Schools (APS) released a statement regarding the Georgia State Board of
Education’s resolution change, on the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Georgia schools on
Friday, June 4th.
APS’ statement spoke against the resolution change noting that removing Critical Race Theory
from the curriculum, “is a grave mistake that is rooted in a lack of understanding of what Critical
Race Theory is.”
APS’ statement also noted that there is a clear link between student’s racial backgrounds and
their “academic outcomes.” Signifying that a resolution change such as this would not allow for
those conversations to be had which could impact those particular students even more.
Dr. Tahueedah Baker-Jones mentioned this same notion last Wednesday when asked about what
her ideal school system would look like (in terms of equity).
“I would say that the first thing that we’re trying to strive for in this area as I mentioned is to
remove the predictive link between demography and student outcomes. Right now we can tell,
pretty much put our finger on where a student may live, what school a student may go to, what
racial background that student belongs to and maybe even what social economic status that
student belongs to just based on their outcomes and their scores.”
After the TEA Talk Series last week that presented the topic of equity in Atlanta schools, the
resolution change may be a hindrance in some of the strategies for equity listed by both parents
and educators alike.
The State Board of Education’s resolution change, applauded by Governor Kemp, detailed that
concepts that oppress others or cause feelings of anguish over race/gender have “no place in
training for teachers, administrators, or other employees of the public educational system of the
State of Georgia.”
The resolution change was an answer to Gov. Kemp’s letter to the Georgia State Board of
Education, where he wrote to the State Board on May 20th, asking them to “take immediate steps
to ensure that Critical Race Theory and its dangerous ideology do not take root in our state
standard or curriculum.”
Though the resolution change itself does not mention Critical Race Theory by name, Gov.
Kemp’s applause and thanks for the State Board’s resolution (which can be found on his Twitter
page) indicate that this was the topic at hand.
The resolution change was passed with an 11 to 2 vote, the two dissenting votes were from
Kenneth Mason and Leonte Benton.