On Monday, U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) penned a joint letter to the National Education Association (NEA) requesting information regarding the teachers’ union’s plans to research Critical Race Theory (CRT) opponents.
The letter, which was obtained by Fox News, takes aim at the powerful education lobby for targeting CRT critics.
“We are deeply concerned that the NEA, the nation’s largest labor union representing over 3 million school faculty, is proposing to ‘fight back against anti-Critical Race Theory (CRT) rhetorics’ by collecting and publicizing information about opponents of CRT,” the letter states.
The letter comes in response to the NEA’s passage of a resolution earlier this month pledging to conduct research on organizations that the union deems to be “attacking educators doing anti-racist work.”
Critical Race Theory has increasingly become a topic of contention in the Yellowhammer State, with multiple legislators vowing to address the issue through the legislative process. Advocates of CRT promote the movement under the guise of social justice. Many conservatives believe CRT to be an indoctrination effort waged by cultural progressives in academia to divide students by racial classification.
Following public backlash, the controversial proposal would later be removed from the NEA website. New Business Item 2, which referred to the NEA’s stated intentions to research CRT opponents, was removed from the site. New Business Item 39 would also be removed, which vowed to “fight against anti-CRT rhetoric.”
Tuberville and Blackburn pressed the NEA for clarity and questioned the removal of the two business items.
“Accordingly, may we know what information the NEA is collecting on critics of CRT? Are you conducting research on American children? For what purpose will this research be used? Why were mentions of New Business Item 2 and New Business Item 39 removed from the NEA.org website?” they write.
In a statement to Yellowhammer News regarding his opposition to the implementation of CRT in core curriculum, Tuberville highlighted the need to promote unity among students.
“I think we need to do more uniting, and that should start in our schools,” said Tuberville. “I spent 40 years in education, I’ve seen firsthand how a quality education can put a kid on the path to success in our great country, regardless of their race, religion, or economic background. When done right, education is the key to freedom. But the education we see in many schools today is just cementing existing inequality, rather than giving kids can the chance to escape it.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News
