Well! Someone at TASB got a clue! Someone must have figured out that the Texas Association of School Boards should NOT be publicly recommending the wokest of woke resources to the state’s school boards. But thankfully for us, the wayback machine has recorded the TASB recommendations that were there through the end of 2021 but have been scrubbed now at the beginning of 2022.
Before we look at the changes, here’s why this is important: just because TASB scrubbed the recommendations from the website, it doesn’t mean they’ve scrubbed the woke from the organization. In fact, not being able to see it on the website just means it’s harder to document and track the woke within. Until someone at TASB clarifies TASB’s policies about recommending far-left political resources, then we can assume that they’re just hiding it.
PROPOSAL: Someone at TASB should answer the following questions:
- How did these resource recommendations come to be part of the TASB website?
- Specifically, who—including supervisors—was responsible for having chosen, approved, and posted these resources?
- Who was responsible for removing the recommendations from the website?
- What was the impetus for removing the recommendations?
- Are the recommendations still on the website somewhere, just behind a login screen?
- Does TASB stand behind these recommendations?
- Does TASB see itself as a woke political organization? Does disseminating woke ideology fit the TASB mission?
- If not, what policies have been implemented to prevent this ideology from being promoted by TASB in the future?
- Regarding the video on the website, does TASB believe that school districts should be working toward “equity,” defined in the video as “equal outcomes”?
If TASB does not explicitly address these issues, then every school district in Texas has a legitimate reason to withdraw its support and funding from TASB. No matter what your personal beliefs are, woke politics have no place in our Texas schools. And just because TASB has made its endorsement of woke politics harder to find, it doesn’t mean it’s not there.
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Here’s how the website and its wokeness has changed. Bullets 1 & 2 are still on the TASB website as of 1/3/22.
In the fall 2021, there were three clear indications of wokeness at TASB:
- This handout assuring Texans that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has NOTHING to do with Critical Race Theory. If you believe that, then you know I’ve got a bridge to sell you. It reminds me of the Grinch assuring Cindy Lou Who that he was most definitely not up to no-good, patting her on the head, and sending her naively back to bed—”No, Honey nothing to see here”—right before he steals everything, down to the last crumb. “Nope, Texas, no CRT in our DEI programs.” Such an outrageous lie.
- Then there’s the video that’s posted on the TASB webpage “How to Start Addressing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Our Schools.” Within the first 3 minutes, one of the “equity experts” defines equity: “Equity means people get what they need in order to get equal outcomes.” By minute 4:20, they’re into equity and intersectionality. The whole presentation is one CRT buzz word after another. (I can’t understand how any Texas school board can justify paying TASB for this shallow, woke advice.)
OK, here’s the part of the website that has been changed since late December 2021:
- Last fall, the website listed four organizations and a list of articles.
In order to understand just how egregious these recommended resources are, here are the links.
- First recommended resource: Racial Equity Tools
- Second recommended resource: Dismantling Racism Works, where it explicitly says CRT.
- Third recommended resource: Teaching Tolerance, now called Learning for Justice, run by the SPLC.
- Fourth recommended resource: Intercultural Development Association
This is the blog post I wrote in October 2021 about these resources. In case those 4 links above aren’t working, follow this link to see screenshots from the recommended websites. Again, egregiously political.
January 2022
As of January 2022, these website and book recommendations have been removed from the TASB website. Now the website simply says, “What Educational Equity Is, and What It’s Not.” Who knows what that article is about because it’s locked in the Member Center
The bottom line: The folks at TASB scrubbed the woke recommendations from public view but have given no indication that TASB policy advice has changed. This sneakiness suggests MORE suspicious rotting wokeness within TASB—and gives school boards a clear reason to withdraw from TASB and revoke financial support.