by Reagan Reese
The Utah Board of Education passed social studies standards on Thursday for middle schoolers, emphasizing LGBTQ and minority communities, according to Fox 13 News.
The standards for fifth and sixth graders reflect an emphasis on diversity with a focus on minority and LGBTQ communities, John Arthur, a Utah middle school teacher who helped craft the standards said, according to Fox 13 News. The revisions, the first in more than a decade, faced backlash from parental rights in education groups such as Utah Parents United, who said the standards are “indoctrinating” students and promoting “social justice.”
“One of the biggest changes in these new standards is more of our kids in our schools are going to be able to see themselves reflected in these standards – students from minority communities, immigrants, refugees, students with disabilities, LGBTQ+,” Arthur told Fox 13 News.
During the revision period, nearly 2,00 comments were submitted with some critiquing the standards for containing Critical Race Theory and communism, KUER News reported. One standard in the curriculum asks students to “research and summarize the accomplishments and contributions of a minority community in the United States today.”
Other comments submitted during the revision period said the standards weren’t appropriate for elementary school students with fears that the standards would make the classroom political, according to KUTV News.
The standards will be officially published in the coming weeks along with a model curriculum based on the standards, according to Fox 13.
“I hope that with the new standards, there’s a renewed commitment to actually teaching our kids the things that they need to know about the story of us,” Arthur told the outlet.
The Utah Board of Education and Utah Parents United did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Reagan Reese is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Teacher and Students” by Thirdman.
