‘Big Win For Parents’ South Carolina AG Applauds After Biden Admin Walks Back ‘Error’ Promoting CRT Handbook

In May, South Carolina Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson was one of 20 Republican attorney generals who signed onto a letter that was sent to Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona condemning the inclusion of a link on the Department of Education’s website to a radical activist group’s handbook that pushes critical race theory in schools.

The Biden administration claimed today that it was an “error,” distancing itself from the organization to the relief of Wilson.

In a statement, the Department of Education claimed, “The Department does not endorse the recommendations of this group, nor do they reflect our policy positions. It was an error in a lengthy document to include this citation.”

Wilson, who the current chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), applauded the administration’s walk-back as a victory for parents and believed that their efforts were a major component to the move.

Yesterday, Wilson issued a press release where he announced that the Biden Administration had reversed course on educational proposals aimed at imposing the teaching of critical race theory (CRT), the 1619 Project, and other similar curriculum into America’s classrooms.

The move comes on the heels of a letter by 20 state attorneys general pushing back against the proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Education establishing priorities for grants in American History and Civics Education programs, the press release stated.

“This is a big win for South Carolina families. We wanted to make sure United States History and Civics are taught in a way that does not include leftist ideologies. As we said in our brief, the priorities that were proposed by the US Department of Education would teach factually deficient history and would lead to racial and ethnic division and more discrimination,” Wilson said.

Cardona referenced the May letter in his press release and how the attorneys general urged the Department to review the directives for teaching “traditional American history” as prescribed in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015.

“Congress made clear that the purpose of the (ESSA) programs is to advance a traditional understanding of American history, civics, and government. The proposed priorities would do little to advance that goal,” the May letter stated.

Wilson added in the press release that, “The proposed priorities needed to be rejected as would anything that characterizes the United States as irredeemably racist or founded on principles of racism instead of equality, or that would assign fault, blame, or bias to a particular race or to an individual because of race.”

“This is big win for parents. The Biden Administration is walking back its rule making and calling radical ties an error largely because @RepublicanAGs pressured them to do the right thing,” Wilson said in a tweet today.

This is big win for parents. The Biden Administration is walking back it’s rule making and calling radical ties an error largely because @RepublicanAGs pressured them to do the right thing. RT if you agree and support. https://t.co/zlh2JJssPl

— Alan Wilson (@AGAlanWilson) July 21, 2021

From Fox News:

The DOE had linked to the Abolitionist Teaching Network’s “Guide for Racial Justice & Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning” in its handbook intended as a “roadmap” for schools to reopen safely during the coronavirus pandemic. 

That guide calls for “a commitment to learning from students, families, and educators who disrupt Whiteness and other forms of oppression.”