The Department of Education said it was an “error” to reference a radical activist group’s guidelines that used language commonly associated with critical race theory in the COVID-19 reopening handbook.

The department’s handbook, which is intended to help schools across the country safely reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, previously linked to the Abolitionist Teaching Network’s “Guide for Racial Justice & Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning,” which includes guidelines such as “a commitment to learning from students, families, and educators who disrupt Whiteness and other forms of oppression,” according to the group’s virtual manual. After receiving backlash over the citation from Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, anti-CRT activists, and others, the department spoke out.