Dark Money Should Not Dictate Local School Board Decisions

Across the country, pockets of parents and school board members are working to impose a specific ideology on public school curriculum. Thanks to an orchestrated dark-money fueled disinformation campaign, there are cries to ban Critical Race Theory(CRT) from school curriculums. Rather than the narrative of a parent-driven, grassroots movement, the anti-Critical Race Theory fervor is a product of a coordinated dark money campaign. 

At UnKoch My Campus, we reviewed the published materials of 28 think tanks and political organizations affiliated with the Koch network and analyzed the rhetorical tactics that Koch network think tanks have deployed around Critical Race Theory and their efforts to ban it from public schools. During the investigation period, we found that Koch network think tanks published 146 articles, podcasts, reports, or videos about CRT. Koch-affiliated national think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, FreedomWorks, and the Manhattan Institute, among others, have used their influence to generate and spread talking points, briefed state and federal legislators on model policy, and attempted to generate grassroots mobilization against local school districts. This orchestrated moral panic has real life consequences. 

State politicians were almost entirely silent on the topic until Koch-funded entities started pushing the issue. Just in the past year, 35 states have introduced legislation or taken other action that, backers claim, is aimed at banning “critical race theory” (CRT) from schools and government programs. Several of these states have already passed these bills. In addition to state legislation, local school boards are being inundated by parents and board members who have received talking points laden with disinformation from organizations like the Heritage Fund. 

Right now, the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District in California is up against anti-CRT rhetoric in the form of Resolution 21-12 “OPPOSING THE TEACHING OF CRITICAL RACE THEORY.”

The resolution notes that “the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District stands by the commitment to teach a complete and accurate account of history,” so it’s unclear why Critical Race Theory is even being brought up. This resolution –like many of the resolutions and bills being proposed across the country– cater to disinformation and a manufactured narrative. Those behind this moral panic  Before the Koch-network started crafting the story of CRT in our schools, there was no push to ban CRT or even discuss how it connects to K-12. However, the Koch network has made no secret about the critical role that public education plays as an ideal arena for influencing U.S. policy and culture. They’ve used a variety of tactics over the years -- charter schools, vouchers, curriculum, textbooks, trainings, using state politicians to engage in culture war against progressive ideas and more -- to ensure the spread of their ideas, including climate disinformation and free-market favoring economics philosophy.  This fight over CRT is just their latest tactic. 

If a resolution like 21-12 is allowed to pass, it will open the floodgates to even more control and influence from outside sources who work to capture and privatize public education for their own gain. While educators work to deliver children accurate and honest education, resolutions like this one only serve to turn parents against public schools so they can censor the lessons taught in classrooms, deny certain children resources, and write people who look like them out of our history books.

How can you help?

Tell your representative that you’ve followed the facts, and the moral panic surrounding CRT is completely manufactured. Let them know that you don’t support any state or federal policies that attempt to ban CRT, as it only feeds into the spread of disinformation and cycle of artificial outrage. We’ve created two ways for you to reach your legislator: email and social media. Let them know you want their attention focused on solving the real issues that plague our schools and not ones created to capture them!