{"id":1507908,"date":"2022-06-08T14:19:37","date_gmt":"2022-06-08T18:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1507908"},"modified":"2022-06-08T14:20:22","modified_gmt":"2022-06-08T18:20:22","slug":"missouri-attorney-general-investigation-uncovers-systemically-racist-curricula-intrusive-surveys-in-public-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-attorney-general-investigation-uncovers-systemically-racist-curricula-intrusive-surveys-in-public-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri Attorney General Investigation Uncovers Systemically Racist Curricula, Intrusive Surveys In Public Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmissouri-attorney-general-investigation-uncovers-systemically-racist-curricula-intrusive-surveys-in-public-schools%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1507908&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Today the Missouri attorney general announced subpoenas of seven school districts in response to parent complaints of racist instruction and intrusive surveys administered to their children allegedly without prior parental notice. Attorney General Eric Schmitt\u2019s office also posted Wednesday <a href=\"https:\/\/ago.mo.gov\/other-resources\/students-first-initiative\/transparency-portal\">a public database<\/a> of open records investigations into 49 Missouri school districts that uncovered the systemic abuse of public schooling for political purposes. <\/p>\n<p>The investigation uncovers Missouri public schools forcing students to participate in exercises that shame children for their skin color and teaching that races are inherently unequal, which violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Schmitt found such instances in 21 percent of Missouri\u2019s 226 school districts after only two months of following up on parent complaints, indicating the problems are much more widespread. The investigations are ongoing and parents can submit more complaints to Schmitt\u2019s office <a href=\"https:\/\/ago.mo.gov\/other-resources\/students-first-initiative\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The newly public records document Missouri public schools forcing students to participate in a \u201cprivilege walk\u201d in Saint Charles County\u2019s Wentzville School District, shaming \u201cwhiteness\u201d in teacher training in Saint Louis County\u2019s Rockwood School District, and applying a Marxist or feminist \u201clens\u201d to reading assignments at Hickman High School in Boone County.<\/p>\n<p>In the Webster Groves School District in the Saint Louis suburbs, second graders were required to answer, \u201cWhen is the first time you noticed that people can be different races from you?\u201d and, \u201cDo you feel more comfortable around people who look like you?\u201d according to documentation the legal nonprofit Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) sent Schmitt in <a href=\"https:\/\/345h6j74bj93ldnop2phvizr-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/05\/20220501-SLF-Ltr.-to-Missouri-AG-re.-WGSD-Investigation-Final.pdf\">a May 1 letter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/secondgraderassignmentinwebstergroves.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-273640\" width=\"452\" height=\"624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/secondgraderassignmentinwebstergroves.jpg 372w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/secondgraderassignmentinwebstergroves-217x300-1.jpg 217w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Webster Groves middle school students were also required to take a survey that asked, \u201cHas someone ever offended you or someone you know because of your race or ethnicity, and if you feel comfortable please share how [sic],\u201d according to SLF\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n<p>Schmitt\u2019s spokesman told The Federalist the subpoenas are intended to help evaluate if the districts followed state laws. If not, the subpoenas could lead to lawsuits, Chris Nuelle said: \u201cOnce we obtain more information, all legal options are on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Statewide Investigation into \u2018Equity\u2019 Industry<\/h2>\n<p>Schmitt\u2019s office also announced subpoenas as part of its investigations into \u201cdiversity, equity, and inclusion\u201d (DEI) initiatives in Missouri public schools. He also is investigating a private DEI consultancy, Educational Equity Consultants, that contracts with many Missouri public schools.<\/p>\n<p>Like parents nationwide, parents across Missouri have raised alarms about public school political extremism after school lockdowns let them see into their children\u2019s classrooms. SLF <a href=\"https:\/\/345h6j74bj93ldnop2phvizr-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/05\/20220501-SLF-Ltr.-to-Missouri-AG-re.-WGSD-Investigation-Final.pdf\">asked<\/a> Schmitt to investigate several parent complaints about Webster Groves surveys they found alarming. The parents came to SLF for help after they found the district unresponsive, said SLF Litigation Director Braden Boucek.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe parents would be the first to tell you they felt they were being stonewalled through this entire process,\u201d Boucek told The Federalist. \u201c\u2026The consistent throughline was these parents found out about this after the fact, and any time a parent would go to the school district and say, \u2018This is wildly inappropriate,\u2019 the school district would make it difficult for them to find out what was on these surveys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to SLF\u2019s letter, Webster Groves High School required all students to answer \u201cmental health\u201d surveys every week. The surveys may require self-incrimination on sensitive topics including sexuality, race, political views, and their parents\u2019 behavior at home: \u201cNotably, WGSD conducts these surveys without seeking prior written consent from the students\u2019 parents, and in many instances, it appears that the identity of the student is not anonymous,\u201d the SLF letter says.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/proejctwayfinderquestions-1024x590-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-273638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/proejctwayfinderquestions-1024x590-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/proejctwayfinderquestions-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/proejctwayfinderquestions-768x442-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/proejctwayfinderquestions.jpg 1116w\" \/><\/p>\n<p><figcaption class=\"col-12 col-md-6 body-xs px-15 pe-md-0 ps-md-30 py-15 m-0 text-center\">Project Wayfinder questions at Webster Groves High School, issued weekly, according to the Southeastern Legal Foundation.<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"477\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/proejctwayfinderquestions2-1024x477-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-273639\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/proejctwayfinderquestions2-1024x477-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/proejctwayfinderquestions2-300x140.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/proejctwayfinderquestions2-768x358-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/proejctwayfinderquestions2.jpg 1098w\" \/><\/p>\n<p><figcaption class=\"col-12 col-md-6 body-xs px-15 pe-md-0 ps-md-30 py-15 m-0 text-center\">More Project Wayfinder questions to students.<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Systemically Racist Schooling a National Problem<\/h2>\n<p>Boucek said incidents like these are \u201cnot isolated\u201d either in Missouri or nationwide: \u201cEver since we filed our complaint with the AG we\u2019ve been flooded with people who are trying to share their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The vendors Webster Groves bought some of the surveys from, Panorama Education and Project Wayfinder, sell to districts across the United States. Panorama has sold its wares to approximately 1,500 school districts nationwide, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/for-profit\/panorama-education\/\">Influence Watch<\/a>. Also according to Influence Watch, Project Wayfinder\u2019s cofounder is the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland\u2019s son-in-law, and the company received startup funds from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.<\/p>\n<p>Numerous news stories have documented Panorama products pushing critical race theory in public schools, and making millions in the process. In a 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.panoramaed.com\/blog\/panoramas-stand-against-systemic-racism\">statement<\/a>, the company proclaimed, \u201cWe commit to dismantling systemic racism, we commit to embodying and spreading anti-racist practices.\u201d Between 2017 and 2020, Panorama <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openthebooks.com\/assets\/1\/6\/Panorama_Education_School_District_Payment_Survey_2017-2020.pdf\">made<\/a> at least $27 million from public school districts in 21 states, according to an OpenBooks.org investigation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough it is unclear how much money WGSD has paid Panorama and Project Wayfinder over the years, other Missouri school districts like Springfield Public Schools pay Panorama upwards of $60,000 annually to obtain personally sensitive information from students, families, and the community. Shockingly, $60,000 is a small contract for Panorama. Other school districts like Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia have entered into contracts worth $2.4 million with Panorama,\u201d the SLF letter documents.<\/p>\n<p>Schmitt launched a Parents First initiative in March 2022 that asked parents to submit to him complaints about potential school violations of state law. His office then followed up on these with records requests to numerous schools, and posted the results of that probe in the database it made public on Wednesday, said spokesman Chris Nuelle in an interview.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"ExzkYyFudwLf7NjvlUJ2KRCsrmB08XqcHWpQVh\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We launched The Students First Initiative in March 2022 to empower parents and bring transparency back to Missouri&#8217;s schools. Here&#8217;s an example of teacher training material submitted by a Fox C-6 parent.<\/p>\n<p>Parents can submit objectionable curriculum here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cXQPswTmJK\">https:\/\/t.co\/cXQPswTmJK<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Jn6F8ZDgjj\">pic.twitter.com\/Jn6F8ZDgjj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AGEricSchmitt\/status\/1513970716076609546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 12, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In a statement sent to The Federalist, WGSD said it broke no federal or state laws in administering these surveys:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>The District complies in all respects with the [federal] Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).\u00a0The requirements for student surveys under the PPRA apply only to programs partially or wholly funded by the U.S. Department of Education\u2026None of the surveys cited by SLF were a part of any such program.<\/p>\n<p>The requirements of the Missouri statute cited by SLF (\u00a7161.096) are only directed to \u2018the statewide longitudinal data system\u2019 maintained by the Missouri Department of Education, not to any student information gathered at the local level\u2026The only reference in that statute to the local school district is a prohibition against reporting certain student information to the state data system, and the Webster Groves School District does not report any such information to the Department of Education.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The federal government <a href=\"https:\/\/knowledgeworks.org\/resources\/essa-student-centered-accountability\/\">accelerated<\/a> public schools\u2019 use of student \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aacps.org\/Page\/6790\/\">climate surveys<\/a>\u201d as a state-selected \u201caccountability indicator,\u201d or \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/files.eric.ed.gov\/fulltext\/ED565299.pdf\">nonacademic indicator<\/a>,\u201d to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act. Congress passed that successor to No Child Left Behind in a lame-duck session at the end of 2015. Congressional Republicans were key to rushing its passage under President Barack Obama before they seized historic levels of electoral power over Congress and the presidency when Donald Trump took office in January 2016.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s the factual question as to whether these surveys were or were not federally funded and I hope that\u2019s something the attorney general investigates thoroughly,\u201d Boucek said.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Joy Pullmann is executive editor of The Federalist, a happy wife, and the mother of six children. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/iX1dsZnedpJjPMoP7\">Sign up here to get early access<\/a> to her next ebook, &#8220;101 Strategies For Living Well Amid Inflation.&#8221; Her bestselling ebook is &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/payhip.com\/b\/R1JL\">Classic Books for Young Children<\/a>.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Mrs. Pullmann identifies as native American and gender natural. She is also the author of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Education-Invasion-Parents-Control-American\/dp\/1594038813\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1486730068&#038;sr=8-1&#038;keywords=education+invasion\">The Education Invasion: How Common Core Fights Parents for Control of American Kids<\/a>,&#8221; from Encounter Books. In 2013-14 she won a Robert Novak journalism fellowship for in-depth reporting on Common Core national education mandates. <\/p>\n<p>Joy is a grateful graduate of the Hillsdale College honors and journalism programs.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today the Missouri attorney general announced subpoenas of seven school districts in response to parent complaints of racist instruction and intrusive surveys administered to their children allegedly without prior parental<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":519,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1507908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1507908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/519"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1507908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1507908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1507908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1507908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1507908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}