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GOP lawmakers: Culturally responsive standards for teachers would put politics in classrooms

Suburban lawmakers are split in opinion over a rule change proposed by the Illinois State Board of Education called "culturally responsive teaching and leading standards."

The standards would "apply to both candidates for licensure and to the programs that prepare them" beginning in October 2021 for new teacher training programs and in October 2025 for existing programs.

Republicans say the rule change would "inject politics" into education, while Democrats say it would bring needed culture change to Illinois classrooms.

Sen. John Curran, a Downers Grove Republican, said the rule change, backed by state Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala, is "simply bad policy." Curran said he and five other Republican members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules plan to vote against the rule change Feb. 16.

To strike down the rule change, however, eight of the 12 members on the rules committee - six Republicans, six Democrats - will have to vote no. The proposal does not require a vote from the full legislature.

The rule change is an effort by the ISBE to help bridge the achievement gap between white and minority students by requiring teachers to be mindful of how their own biases and perceptions affect their teaching and to pay close attention to cultural inequities. Republican lawmakers view this as an attempt to push liberal politics in the classroom.

"It takes teachers and it puts them in a position to become advocates for a particular political agenda," said Republican rules committee member Rep. Steve Reick of Woodstock.

In response to Republican criticism, the state board of education statement said the proposal does "the exact opposite" of injecting politics into the classroom.

"The standards will help make schools more - not less - inclusive of students from all backgrounds and help improve student outcomes across a range of indicators from math and reading scores to attendance and postsecondary enrollment," the statement read.

Democratic Rep. Michelle Mussman of Schaumburg, a member of the Elementary and Secondary Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee, welcomes the rule change and said it is part of a conversation that "needs to be had."

"I would say this is a more concerted effort to intentionally ensure that we are recognizing all the different children that are in our classrooms," Mussman said. "Being even more thoughtful and aware about the words we use to speak to them and about them. To make sure the materials we use are inclusive and reflect all of them."

Curran took issue with the proposal's admonition that teachers be mindful of their own "Eurocentrism" and "unearned privilege," concepts he said are not commonplace in classrooms around the state.

That section of the rule change says a "culturally responsive teacher and leader" will "assess how their biases and perceptions affect their teaching practice and how they access tools to mitigate their own behavior (racism, sexism, homophobia, unearned privilege, Eurocentrism, etc.)"

"There is a lot of resistance to turning teachers into advocates for particular political viewpoints," Reick said.

In a news release, Ayala said: "Students are more engaged when they see their cultures represented in what they learn at school. As a veteran educator, I know teachers know this, and the proposed Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards will enhance the strategies and best practices our teachers can use."

Republican Rep. Thomas Morrison of Palatine, who sits on the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, said the proposal emphasizes "what divides us" rather than unity.

If the rule passes, it will mean any teaching preparation curriculum will have to meet the standards of the new rule beginning Oct. 1. Any person seeking a teaching certificate in Illinois will also have to demonstrate an understanding of the new standard.

The proposed rule can be found at www.isbe.net/Documents/23-24RG-P.pdf

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