How Did Nebraska Schools Go Woke?

September 2019, the Month Equality Died

by Sue Greenwald, MD

Anyone who has spent time in Nebraska schools in the past 2-3 years has noticed a subtle change in the culture. This is where it started. In Sept 2019, the Nebraska Dept of Education revised their position statement. The document can be found on the NDE website here: https://www.education.ne.gov/.../09/DRAFT_S1_2019_staff.pdf

At that time, all references to "equality", both in the title and the body of the position statement, were jettisoned and replaced with "equity". References were added regarding "a societal history of bias, bigotry, and racism resulting in societal disparities and inequities, and the effects of these disparities and inequities on Nebraskans today.”

The reference to “race, color, sex and national origin” was greatly expanded to: “… including but not limited to, and unrestricted by age, citizenship status, color, disability, economic status, ethnicity, family mobility, family structure, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, tribal membership, or veteran status.”

One wonders, in the world of K-12, how many children are concerned with marital status, veteran status or genetic information? Where did this paragraph come from and why was it chosen? When I put the phrase into the search engine, I found this: “The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs, activities, or employment.”

I have observed that the University of Nebraska does such a swell job of non-discrimination on the basis of political affiliation-it’s no wonder the NDE would want to copy them.

In reality, this position statement is a perfect set-up for introducing the Neo-Marxist ideology known as Critical Theory, or CRT when it refers to race. Critical Theory is designed to divide people according to categories: Male vs. Female, White vs. Black, Straight vs. Gay, Cis vs. Trans, Abled vs. Disabled, Christian vs. Muslim. According to the proponents of the Theory, the first group in each of those pairs are the “privileged oppressors” and the second group are the “oppressed victims”, deserving of “reparations”. People are judged by the number of victim-hoods that they can claim, which is known as “intersectionality”. There is no such thing as individual merit in Critical Theory, your value is based on how you fit in to the groups.

In September of 2019, the State Board approved the idea of using an “Equity Lens” to color every decision going forward. https://www.education.ne.gov/.../Equity_Lens_8_20_19_Rev...

Knowingly or unknowingly, the Board agreed to apply Critical Theory, aka “Culturally Response Education”, aka “Diversity, Inclusion and Equity”, aka “Social Emotional Learning”, to every future decision, including curriculum standards. The NDE hired an “Equity Officer” who is still on the payroll. The Social Studies standards released in 2019 were replete with resource links to Marxist and socialist material. The #1 resource link was the 1619 Project, proudly displayed in large and bold type. It has since been removed after a public outcry that was echoed by the Governor. However, it was a clear indication of the direction in which the NDE wants to take Nebraska’s schools.

When it came time to develop Health Education standards, the “Equity Officer” was included on the “Advisory Panel” as were a bevy of LGBTQ activists and “Friends of Planned Parenthood” that were hand-picked by District 8 Board member Deborah Neary. Together they sought to include radical standards to sexualize even the youngest children and normalize controversial gender ideology. These concepts are known as Comprehensive Sexuality Education. www.Siecus.org. Emails obtained by Public Records Request revealed Ms. Neary’s involvement, the willing participation of the NDE in this subterfuge, as well as a rabid anti-Christian bias among NDE staff and “advisors”.

The Nebraska Dept of Ed, and all of their cheerleaders, insist that CRT is not being taught in Nebraska. That is true and not true. There may not be a class called CRT, but the divisive philosophy is being IMPLEMENTED into every decision that the NDE and the State Board put their “Equity Lens” to.

Please State Board, bring back Equality, and clean house at the Nebraska Department of Education.

The author is a retired Pediatrician and a co-founder of the Protect Nebraska Children Coalition