Paso Robles school board delays decision on proposed critical race theory ban

June 24, 2021

By KAREN VELIE

The Paso Robles Unified School District Board took no action Tuesday evening on a proposed resolution to ban teaching critical race theory in district schools.

Before public comment, the board agreed to end the meeting no later than 11 p.m. After more than an hour of heated remarks, the board agreed to delay voting on the resolution.

Last week, Trustee Dorian Baker proposed a resolution banning critical race theory (CRT), with was then penned by Board President Christopher Arend. The resolution challenges the fundamental assumptions of CRT and bans its teachings.

“Critical race theory is a divisive ideology that assigns moral fault to individuals solely on the basis of an individual’s race and, therefore, is itself a racist ideology,” according to the proposed resolution. “Critical race theory views social problems primarily as racial problems and, thus, detracts from analysis of underlying socio-economic causes of social problems.”

CRT is not currently taught in Paso Robles public schools.

Proponents of the ban referred to CRT as divisive and racist. They voiced concerns that CRT is used to indoctrinate student.

Opponents of the ban argued that CRT shows how racism is rooted in our culture.

The chair of the SLO County Democratic Party Central Committee, Rita Casaverde, called the attempt to ban CRT part of a conservative political agenda.

While the trustees appeared uniformly opposed to teaching CRT in district schools, several trustees voiced their concerns with the proposed resolution. The board then agreed to delay a vote on the subject, with loose plans to hold a special meeting in the future.