Loudoun County teacher sobs as she quits during school board meeting to protest school’s CRT lessons

Part 2 of 2

‘I will find employment elsewhere. I encourage all parents and staff in this county to flood the private schools.’

Morris spoke before the Loudoun County School Board, in a virtually empty hall. Following a series of heated meetings, the general public is no longer permitted to attend

A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting which included a discussion of Critical Race Theory and transgender students — A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting on June 22

Parents attended a packed Loudoun County School board meeting in June which descended into chaos

Loudoun County, asked about her resignation, said: ‘LCPS does not comment on personnel matters.’

Loudon County, which borders Washington DC, has become the epicenter for arguments about the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in schools.

School board meetings have become contentious with parents yelling and being arrested, furious at the idea of teaching what they see as divisive and unpatriotic approaches. Defenders of CRT say that it is simply a reframing of traditional narratives, to deal with some uncomfortable truths about America’s racial history.

The school board is no stranger to controversy.

On May 25, physical education teacher Byron ‘Tanner’ Cross was suspended after refusing to ‘affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa.’

He had taught at Leesburg Elementary School for eight years, but said that his Christian faith would not allow him to use a student’s preferred pronouns – although he said he was happy to use whichever name they chose.

On June 8 a court ordered that Cross be reinstated, but LCPS said they will appeal.

On Tuesday night the school board discussed whether to grant transgender children access to sex-specific facilities and school activities that match their gender identities.

A vote was postponed until Wednesday, after public comment stretched on for more than four hours.

CRITICAL RACE THEORY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The fight over critical race theory in schools has escalated in the United States over the last year.

The theory has sparked a fierce nationwide debate in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests around the country over the last year and the introduction of the 1619 Project.

The 1619 Project, which was published by the New York Times in 2019 to mark 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived on American shores, reframes American history by ‘placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the center of the US narrative’.

The debate surrounding critical race theory regards concerns that some children are being indoctrinated into thinking that white people are inherently racist or sexist.

Those against critical race theory have argued it reduces people to the categories of ‘privileged’ or ‘oppressed’ based on their skin color.

Supporters, however, say the theory is vital to eliminating racism because it examines the ways in which race influence American politics, culture and the law.