Tennessee Department of Education Releases New Critical Race Theory Guidelines

The Tennessee Department of Education on Monday released the latest set of guidelines regarding the state’s new law banning the teaching of what has come to be known as critical race theory in public schools.

During the most recent legislative session, Republican lawmakers were fixated on the issue, despite seemingly not being able to agree on what critical race theory even is. Though neither the law nor the Tennessee Department of Education’s guidelines specifically use the phrase critical race theory — and the concept is rarely taught in public schools — teachers, schools and even districts can be penalized for teaching lessons suggesting that certain races or sexes are “inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive,” among other ideas.

Since the law was passed in May, teachers and school board members in Nashville have expressed concern regarding the limitations it may impose on classroom instruction. The new guidelines, delivered just a week before Metro Nashville Public Schools start back on Aug. 10, lay out more specific parameters that define what is and isn’t acceptable when teaching topics like American history.

The guidelines state that educators are allowed to teach “the history of an ethnic group,” “the impartial discussion of controversial aspects of history” and “the impartial instruction on the historical oppression of a particular group of people based on race, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion, or geographic region.” The document also provides specific details regarding the processes that could ensue if educators violate the standards of the law. Current students, parents or school employees can file complaints if they feel that educators have taught any “prohibited concepts.” (This is where you might see the phrase critical race theory if the law was actually prohibiting critical race theory.) Anyone filing a complaint must provide specific details regarding the nature of the interaction within 30 days of the incident. If the complaint is deemed valid by local education agencies (local school boards or charter school administrators), the next possible step would be an early resolution, in which the matter is settled between parents, teachers and schools without a full-fledged investigation.

If early resolution cannot be reached, the district school board has 60 days to investigate a complaint. If the complaint is substantiated, the district or charter school must “take appropriate remedial action to ensure that prohibited concepts(s) is no longer included in a course of instruction, curriculum, instructional program, or supplemental instructional materials.” This might mean changing certain curriculum or discipling teachers. 

Before corrective actions begin, parties on both sides of a complaint have 15 days to appeal decisions made by the district or charter schools to TDOE, who would then decide if it will refer cases up to education commissioner Penny Schwinn. At that point, the commissioner would make and communicate her decision about the complaint in a letter. The process of appealing to TDOE could take upward of three months. Even after a final decision is made, districts and charter schools could still request a contested case hearing regarding the commissioner’s decision. 

If, after any of these steps, a complaint is upheld and an educator’s actions deemed unlawful, the district or charter school would determine how to discipline the educator in question.

If TDOE were to decide that the district or charter school knowingly violated the law, they may be subject to a “corrective plan,” at which point funding can be held until the requirements of that plan have been met. For the first district penalty, TDOE can hold a portion of state funds up to $1 million, and after five or more violations, up to $10 million can be withheld. 

It’s important to note the difference between the district and charter schools here. If a teacher at a charter school were to violate the law, that charter school’s network is responsible for setting a course of action and possibly answering to the Tennessee Department of Education. These networks range in size, from individual schools to charter school groups like KIPP, which contains six schools. All 132 district schools, however, fall under the jurisdiction of MNPS.

These latest guidelines surrounding the law were created by Schwinn, who promised to deliver guidance on the law by Aug. 1. In June, Schwinn addressed what she characterized as her responsibility to create a “framework to prevent propaganda like critical race theory from being taught in Tennessee classrooms” in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin).

On Monday, Scwhinn stood alongside Johnson, Gov. Bill Lee and other elected officials in the state Capitol at a press conference about Tennessee’s TCAP scores. 

“I think that history is incredibly important, civics [are] incredibly important, teaching children that this is the most exceptional nation in the world is incredibly important,” Lee said. “But political commentary is not something we need to teach to children. Critical race theory is un-American.”

Public commentary on the new guidelines will be open until Aug. 11. Comments can be sent to EDU.PublicComments@tn.gov.