Jodi Plecity
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) – Last year, Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill banning the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 schools.
During a Department of Public Instruction (DPI) hearing in Bismarck, supporters of that measure, including Republican State Rep. Jim Kasper of Fargo and recent Fargo City Commission candidate Jodi Plecity said it’s not enough.
“We’ve got to take action to do something to make sure that this – what I’ll call, ‘insidious,’ – concept of critical race theory stops being taught in our school systems,” Kasper said. “Because, unfortunately, it has not stopped. Some schools, for whatever reason, have decided that they do not need to follow North Dakota law.”
Kasper said he will introduce legislation next session to “put teeth” into the ban, including funding for the Attorney General’s Office to investigate violations of the law and consequences like “clawbacks” of state-appropriated funding if schools are found to be teaching CRT.
Plecity called the current version of the bill “virtue signaling” and said there needed to be more recourse.
“We need to create a general public hotline or state-ran website where citizens can report CRT, upload documentation, districts, or teachers that are subjecting our children to, or teaching, or any watered-down versions of CRT,” Plecity said. “The repercussions, if the school doesn’t stop, funding is pulled immediately.”
DPI has proposed rules that allow for curriculum review by the public and a call for districts to develop a process for addressing violations of the ban.
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