(The Center Square) – In a new report, education defense group Defending Education revealed that Vermont’s White River Valley Supervisory Union promotes Critical Race Theory under the guise of an anti-racism policy, which includes having teachers be trained as anti-racists and students disciplined for racist acts by “restorative justice” and “role play.”
Director of Strategic Initiatives at Defending Education Paul Runko told The Center Square that “‘Anti-Racism’ may sound like a noble cause, but parents should understand it is Critical Race Theory by another name, one that teaches children to view the world through a racial lens rather than as individuals.”
“Policies like this divide students instead of uniting them,” Runko said.
“Whether it’s framing institutional policies as inherently advantageous to one race, or telling teachers and students they harbor unconscious bias, none of it helps children learn, achieve excellence, or become productive citizens,” Runko said.
Defending Education’s report revealed that “the White River Valley Supervisory Union has an ‘Anti-Racism’ policy that promotes the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT), requires teachers & students to be trained to be anti-racists, establishes ‘Anti-Racist Hiring’ practices and introduces ‘alternatives to discipline’ to ‘reduce racial disparities in discipline and suspension.’”
A supervisory union is “a basket of school districts that share a superintendent and associated administrative, planning and educational services and support,” according to a Vermont government document.
The White River Valley Supervisory Union consists of First Branch School, Granville Hancock District, the Newton School, Rochester Stockbridge School, Sharon Elementary School, and White River Valley Elementary.
The White River Valley Supervisory Union has not yet responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.
White River Valley Supervisory Union’s controversial policy in question – the “C30 – Anti-Racism Policy” – states that its purpose is to “provide a call to action and a plan to address all forms of racism” within the Supervisory Union and its member school districts, according to documents obtained by Defending Education.
The policy’s goals include “promoting the development of brave spaces” and “providing those harmed by racism with confidential reporting mechanisms.”
Another goal of the policy is “ensuring students graduate from the district with a baseline understanding of the history and power dynamics created by race, racism, and discrimination.”
The policy wishes students to graduate “acknowledging the role of racism in upholding institutional and systemic barriers which create varying life experiences.”
Yet another policy goal is “recognizing that becoming anti-racist, and the pursuit of anti-racism, requires continuous community support, education, action, and accountability.”
Anti-racism is defined in the Supervisory Union’s policy as the “active process of identifying, challenging, then changing the values, structures and behaviors that perpetuate racism,” according to Defending Education.
The policy states that the Supervisory Union and all its school districts must “provide safe educational spaces of learning for all students in a manner that does not perpetuate racist ideology or imagery,” as well as “identify, address, eliminate, and prevent actions, decisions, and outcomes that result from and perpetuate racism.”
Additionally, schools must “eliminate inequitable practices that create prejudicial or disparate outcomes for students based on race or ethnicity.”
The Supervisory Union’s anti-racist policy establishes an Anti-Racist Committee, an Anti-Racist Statement, and Anti-Racist Hiring Practices, as shown by Defending Education.
All Supervisory Union employees “shall be trained in the Anti-racism policy,” the policy states.
Furthermore, all employees “shall be trained about racism and how racism produces inequitable practices and outcomes in the school system and beyond,” the policy said.
The policy also contains a section on how to respond to racist acts from students.
The document states that when a student has committed a racist act – which is decided on by school administrators – “the student will be provided the opportunity to learn about the impact of their actions on others through such practices as restorative justice, mediation, role play or other policies or training resources.”
