Washington
The State of Washington has passed several new laws in 2021 requiring CRT at all levels of education.
Higher Education
On May 12, the Gov. Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5227, which mandates that Washington’s 40 public colleges and universities conduct training sessions and assessments for both faculty and staff around diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism starting in the 2022-23 academic year. (source)
K-12 Education
Washington Gov. Inslee Signs Bill Requiring Critical Race Training For Public School Teachers
“The legislature plans to continue the important work of dismantling institutional racism in public schools and recognizes the importance of increasing equity, diversity, inclusion, antiracism, and cultural competency training throughout the entire public school system….”
On May 5, Governor Jay Inslee of Washington signed Senate Bill 5044 into law, which requires Critical Race Theory (CRT) training for all school staff, board directors, teachers, and administrators in public schools across the state.
This follows Inslee’s approval of Senate Bills 5227 and 5228, which requires public colleges and medical schools, respectively, to develop CRT curriculum. SB 5228 claims to tackle “structural racism in healthcare.” (source)
The Washington Policy Center notes that school districts can opt out of these mandatory CRT trainings, setting up the potential for a fight:
The answer is Yes – school officials can reject Critical Race Theory, “cultural competency,” “equity studies” and other forms of indoctrination that teach discrimination. Washington is a local control state, which gives school districts the legal authority to reject controversial learning materials. The cited authority is RCW 28A.150.230 (2) (g).
The strength of public education is local control. That is why school boards are elected locally, and why parents are encouraged to get directly engaged and become advocates for children. (source)