The claim: Documentsshow 'mandatory critical race theory training' forIowateacherstargeted Trumpsupporters
Amiddebates in statehouses around the country onhow schools and diversity trainers should approach discussions about racism, a conservative commentatorrecentlyclaimed documentsfrom an Iowa school district are evidence of how schools are using“critical race theory” as a weapon againstRepublicans.
Benny Johnson, a Newsmax host and the chief creative officer at Turning Point USA, a conservative group,on June 22tweeted to his nearly 340,000 followers about slidestaken from a presentation given by the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency in eastern Iowa. Johnson said a whistleblower provided him with information about the presentation.
One slide includesa list of examples of racism, among them the phrase “Make America Great Again,” which was categorized as “covert white supremacy.”
“LEAKED DOCUMENTS from Iowa School System show Teachers are FORCED to classify ‘Make America Great Again’ as a type of ‘racism’ & ‘white supremacy.’ This is done through MANDATORY Critical Race Theory training FORCED on teachers at taxpayer expense,” Johnson said in a tweet.
Johnson said "hundreds" of educators and staff were “forced” to take the training, and that they are“planning on teaching this to your children next semester.”
In addition to his social media posts, Johnson is the listed author of an article on the Turning Point USA website titled "Critical Race Theory Training Mandated In Iowa School System" and discussedthe documents on his Newsmax program, "The Benny Report."
As claim spreads, Iowa governor comments
Thedocuments, which the Des Moines Register has confirmed belongto a presentation given atthe Mississippi Bend AEA,circulated widely.
Johnson’s originaltweetgained more than 11,700 likes and more than 8,700 retweets and quote tweets as of midday Wednesday. A June 22 Facebook post with a video where Johnsondiscussedthe documents had more than 2,800 shares.
"This is the curriculum being taught inside of the Iowa school system, inside of one of Iowa's largest school districts," he said in the video.
Fox Newshas also reported on the documents and posted its own story last week.Multiple Iowa Republican lawmakers have commented publicly.Gov. Kim Reynolds saidin a statement that the presentation “is indoctrination not education.”
“It’s exactly why I took action to ban teaching divisive concepts and critical race theory in Iowa schools. Kids need to be taught how to think and not what to think,” Reynolds, a Republican, said in herstatement.
Reynolds earlier in June signed a law banning the teaching of several concepts in school curriculum and in diversity training for government employees. She touted the new law, which goes into effect July 1,as a ban on critical race theory.
Education agency apologizes
The Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency has apologized for the political nature of some of the content. In a statement provided to theRegister, the agency saidthe presentation was “not properly vetted through the necessary channels” and would no longer be used.
“The Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency Board of Directors and Agency Administrative Leadership emphatically disavow the political nature of the presentation and will make appropriate corrections to processes and oversight within the agency,” the statement said.
Johnson shared the statement on FacebookMonday, calling it a "massive victory against critical race theory."
Presentation came from Iowa area educationagency, not a school district
While the content from the presentation thatJohnson's posts share is accurate, his tweets incorrectly identify some ofthe context.
The Mississippi Bend AEA is not a school district, but one of nine state-funded area education agencies that serve Iowa's public and private school districts with special education services, media and curriculum support.Iowa's area education agenciesprovide resources to thedistricts within their designated region.
The Mississippi Bend AEA’s region includes all of Clinton, Scott and Muscatine counties and parts of Cedar, Jackson and Louisa counties. The agency serves nearly 50,000 studentsin 143school buildings, according to its website.
The presentation, dated April 2021, was put together by a voluntary subcommittee of AEA staff members, said Bill Decker, the Mississippi Bend AEA's chief administrator. Decker said in an email thatthe subcommittee's goal was to explore how the agency could "positively impact disproportionality in the academic and discipline data of the districts we serve."
The presentation— which Decker said was not vetted and was "not a valid exercise in meeting the original charge given to the subcommittee"— took place as part of department meetings that included AEA staff.
AEA: Presentation not part of mandated training, never used in school setting
Decker said the item was part of an agenda for a mandatory department meeting, although the presentation was not part of a mandatory training "and never will be." Teachers employed by school districts in the region were not involved, he said.
"There were no— and would have never been— presentations to schools, teachers, students or anyone else outside the AEA," Decker said. He reiterated that "claims of any student or teacher involvement are patently false."
Iowa Department of Education spokesperson Heather Doe also said the presentation was part of an "in-service equity meeting held for staff" and, "to our knowledge, was never used in a school setting."
The April presentation lists the purpose of the meeting asprovidingthe opportunity for departments to complete a handful of outcomes, including filling out an "equity rubric" to gauge perceptions of the Mississippi AEA's progress toward equitable practices, as well as building consensus around a draft "anti-racism" statement for the agency.
"The subcommittee was given direct instruction not to continue working on an anti-racism statement," Decker said."It does appear this presentation was a continuation of that work and is one of the primary reasons the subcommittee work has been suspended."
Who was at the meeting?
TheFox News report, which unlike Johnson's tweets correctly identifiesthat the presentation originated from an area education agency, not a school, also says that reporters had obtained a copy of one attendance sheet that showed at least 142 workers from the education agency attended—many of them speech language pathologists and social workers.
The Register requested a copy of the sign-in sheet, but Decker declined to provide it, saying it is considered "confidential personal information and part of staff personnel records."
Decker said he believes the Fox News report of around 142 staff members is "fairly accurate." Reports that "hundreds" of staff received the training are incorrect, he said.
The presentation was given at multiple meetings for individual departments, meaning it occurred at multiple small group meetings, he said. The AEA's largest department is around 57 people. Some AEA staff who work in schools cannot attend meetings, he said.
"It is important to note that the sign-in sheets were for required department meetings, not specifically for this presentation," he said.
How would Iowa's new law affect presentations like this?
Johnson in his tweets referred toa new Iowa law that wentinto effect Thursdaythat puts stipulations onmandatory diversity training provided to state or local government employees. It prohibits "stereotyping, scapegoating, or prejudice toward others on the basis of demographic group membership or identity."
Iowa Republicanshave touted it as a ban on "critical race theory," although the law does not use that specific term.
►More:Critical race theory: What is it and how does it relate to Iowa's diversity training bill?
The law does not ban instructors from answering questions about these concepts.
The Iowa Department of Education and the governor's officedid not respond to a Register request to identify what particular elements of the presentation would have been illegal under the new Iowa law.
Doe in a previous email said the Iowa Department of Education is reviewing the new law and will be issuing guidance "to help our AEAs and schools implement and adhere to the new law and avoid situations like this in the future."
Decker said he learned of the presentation on June 10 after a meeting with a certified staff member. He looked into the documents and decided to stop the subcommittee's work.
"On Tuesday, June 15, I reported to the MBAEA Board of Directors that, because of conversations with staff and given the signing of (House File)802, we would be pausing and completely reevaluating the work of the Equity Sub-Committee," he said.
Johnson's spokesperson responds
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Johnson, responded to a Register request for comment late Tuesday by saying the information Johnson reported is "accurate according to multiple sources within the school district who provided Benny with documents, emails, correspondence and guidance directly."
He said Johnson has a sign-in sheet that includes "educators and teachers on it."
He did not acknowledge the difference between an area education agency and a school district.
Kolvet defended the use of the word "hundreds" in the tweet, saying the definition of the term is the numbers 100 to 999.Regarding teaching to students, he said he believes it's "clear" the ideas would be passed down to students since it was being provided to AEA staff.
"If they didn't intend for this to carry over from teachers to students, why was this information being provided through the MBAEA?" Kolvet said.
Our ruling: Lacks context
The Register has confirmed that the documents circulating on social media did come from portions of the presentation, and the presentation did include agraphic identifying phrases like "Make America Great Again" on a spectrum of white supremacy.
The Mississippi Bend AEA's chief administrator has also acknowledged that the presentation, while it was not part of a mandatory diversity training required by AEA leadership,was shared during mandatory staff meetings for various departments.
However, Johnson's posts have inaccurately portrayed the context surrounding the presentation. The presentation did not come from a school district, as Johnson claimed, but an area education agency. The AEA and state education department say the training was not mandated for teachers at Iowa school districts nor was it intended to be.
They instead say the presentation was created for AEA department meetings, and there is not evidence that it was required for any school districts or that the concepts were intended to be taught to children in the fall.
For these reasons, we rate Johnson's claimas LACKS CONTEXT.
Correction: A quotationfromMississippi Bend Area Education Agency chief administrator Bill Decker contained an incorrect word and has beenclarified withthe correct wording.
Sources:
- Benny Johnson, accessedJune 22, Twitter page.
- Benny Johnson, accessed June 22, Facebook page.
- Turning Point USA, June 22, "Critical race theory training mandated in Iowa school system."
- Racial Equity Tools, accessed June 30, Glossary.
- Fox News, accessed June 23, "Iowa critical race theory docs show educators pushed program before state ban: 'Indoctrination not education.'"
- Newsmax, June 27, "The Benny Report."
- USA Today, May 13, "Teaching kids to hate America? Republicans want 'critical race theory' out of schools."
- Des Moines Register, June 8, "Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs law targeting critical race theory, saying she's against 'discriminatory indoctrination.'"
- Des Moines Register, June 1, "Iowa, like other states, seeks to ban teaching about 'critical race theory.' If signed, here's what the law would do."
- Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, accessed June 23, About Us.
- Iowa Legislature, accessed June 29, House File 802.
Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.
