Iowa
K-12 Education
Iowa passed a ban on CRT in K-12 education in June 2021. Educators rebelled against the bill as it was making its way through the legislature:
As Iowa moved to ban the teaching of critical race theory, a state-run education support agency held workshops for teachers about the controversial topic that included a graphic that listed former President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” as an example of “covert white supremacy,” according to a report.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, signed a law prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory in schools earlier this month, calling the theory “indoctrination not education,” and the ban will take effect on July 1.
But leaked documents show an Area Education Agency in the state was advising teachers on “antiracism” and created a presentation that cited the authors of critical race theory Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi, Fox News reported on Wednesday.
The Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, one of nine such groups in Iowa that advise public schools and some private schools, prepared presentations in April and May titled “MBAEA Equity Department Meetings: Anti-racism.” (source)
The fight appears to have no end in sight.
Higher Education
No statewide mandates exist for Iowa’s colleges, but several have taken the initiative to create curricular requirements based in CRT, largely on a department-by-department basis.