In Little Rock, Arkansas, two school districts, Pulaski County and Lakeside, are refuting some of the claims made by the state regarding their alleged violations of Arkansas’ ban on teaching certain topics related to race and sexuality.
Lakeside Superintendent Bruce Orr stated that after a meeting with state Education Secretary Jacob Oliva, it was confirmed that the issues attributed to Lakeside were not violations of the ban on indoctrination. According to Orr, Oliva explicitly told him that there were no indoctrination violations.
The state Department of Education had circulated a document to reporters listing incidents from various districts that were allegedly in violation of the ban. However, Lakeside and Pulaski County are disputing the accuracy of these claims.
Pulaski County school district spokesperson Jessica Duff specifically denied the claim that elementary schools in the district displayed messages on their signs related to LGBT Pride month. Both school districts are contesting the accuracy of the incidents listed in the document.
The Department of Education spokesperson, Kimberly Mundell, refuted the assertion that Oliva had confirmed the absence of violations.
Arkansas passed a law in March, signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, that prohibits teaching on “divisive concepts” about racism and critical race theory. The law also bans classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation before fifth grade.
Lakeside’s Orr mentioned that a picture of a slide in the document had been used in a Lakeside classroom, but it was taken years before Sanders took office as governor, and it adhered to Arkansas’ frameworks for teaching American history.
Pulaski County’s Duff also clarified that despite the claims in the document, elementary schools in the district did not display messages about LGBT Pride month on their signs. However, she acknowledged that the district and schools made social media posts affirming gay pride month.
The document from the Education Department also criticized other institutions, including Arkansas State University and the North Little Rock school district, for various reasons related to race and bias training. The Fayetteville school district was mentioned for asking students about their gender or gender identity in a student survey and posing questions to teachers about their views on white racial identity. The district explained that the handout was intended for self-reflection and did not comment further on the matter.