President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for education secretary, Miguel Cardona, oversaw the creation of a critical race theory class in his home state of Connecticut.
Cardona, 47, the state’s top education official, participated in the creation of a mandated, statewide minority-studies course that focuses on black, Puerto Rican, and Latino studies, which was highlighted in a report from the Washington Free Beacon. High schools can begin offering the course next school year, but it will be required by the fall of 2022.
The class, which was designed for high school students, is intended to “analyze how race, power, and privilege influence group access to citizenship, civil rights, and economic power,” and it is supposed to help students “consider the scope of African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino contributions to U.S. history, society, economy, and culture,” according to the curriculum.
Earlier this month, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced the formation of the course after he signed a law last year that directed all regional and local election boards to include an elective course in high schools, offering students a better understanding of those minority’s “contributions to United States history, society, economy, and culture.”
“Identities matter, especially when 27 percent of our students identify as Hispanic or Latino and 13 percent identify as Black or African-American,” Cardona said of the program in a press release.
“This curriculum acknowledges that by connecting the story of people of color in the U.S. to the larger story of American history,” Cardona said. “The fact is that more inclusive, culturally relevant content in classrooms leads to greater student engagement and better outcomes for all. This law passed due in large part to the strong advocacy of students from around the state and the legislative leadership of State Representative Bobby Gibson and State Senator Doug McCrory.”
President Trump has pushed back against critical race theory, going as far as to sign an executive order barring critical theory-inspired training from the federal government. He also established a commission dedicated to changing educational programming to focus on U.S. ideals.
