The North Carolina State Board of Education has rescheduled a vote on a set of guidance documents for implementing the state’s new social studies standards, after some board members were concerned not all related documents would be passed at the same time.
That decision also comes after the documents and standards raised concerns about how the state will encourage teaching about race and discrimination.
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Concerns surrounded whether the new standards were too negative or just honest. Proponents contended more diverse perspectives on historical issues would leave students better prepared to be leaders when they’re older, while opponents argued emphasizing too much negativity would keep students from supporting their country.
DPI plans to have the new social studies standards implemented in the classroom by this fall.
The vote on the guidance documents will now take place no later than June 18.
After discussing the glossary for the new standards and deciding to make some clarifications on sources used to create it, Board Student Learning and Achievement Chairwoman Jill Camnitz said the glossary would go before the board in July for approval, and the board would vote on the other guidance documents Thursday.
“Would it make sense to bring the entire item back next month when you’ve had a chance to look at?” Board Member Amy White asked.
Board Member Olivia Oxendine backed up White’s proposal, arguing, “The other documents are driven by the glossary. The terms are sprinkled throughout.”
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Deputy Superintendent of Innovation David Stegall urged the board to still approve the documents, so that educators can begin forming curriculum and lesson plans as soon as possible.
Some board members said they were worried not approving the documents Thursday, and waiting until July, would delay school districts’ and teachers’ ability to form curriculum and lesson plans until the last few weeks before school starts.
“As a teacher, the only time you really have to send a substantial amount time planning your day and come up with fun activities to play … is during the summer,” said Maureen Stover, an advisor to the board as the 2020 state teacher of the year.
Matthew Bristow-Smith, in his final meeting as a board adviser, suggested meeting before July as a compromise. Bristow-Smith, the 2019 state principal of the year, advised that waiting until July was like “chopping the summer in half.”
White, who also voted against the new social studies standards in February, motioned to delay the vote to no later than June 18. The motion passed with only Board Members James E. Ford and Wendell Hall voting against it.
Ford and Hall didn’t state their reasons for opposing the measure.
Others outside of the board expressed dismay with the documents, however.
Durham Black activist and minister Paul Scott, in social media posts, called the board’s decision “literary lynching” because of references to Black history said to be removed in an effort to reduce what Superintendent Catherine Truitt said was an over-emphasis on one marginalized group.
Truitt said she had recommended the removal of some groups from lists of marginalized communities during the documents’ drafting process.
The documents listed sample marginalized groups that a lesson could explore, and Truitt said the examples for lessons largely referred to Black people. Other groups were listed in only one example for a social studies objective and some weren’t mentioned where Truitt thought they should be.
The examples Truitt referenced weren’t provided to board members, but Truitt briefly described them Wednesday as being too specific and too heavy on Black history.
Ultimately, school districts, schools and teachers have authority over curriculum and lesson plans, per state law. They could choose to use some of the examples or come up with their own.
The documents discussed this week, for a vote by June 18, include three things for kindergarten through 12th grades: a glossary, “strand maps” that outline of the progression of learning throughout the year, and “crosswalk” tables that explain the difference between last year’s standards and the new ones. For kindergarten through fifth grade, the board reviewed “unpacking documents,” which explain how teachers can engage with the new standards to accomplish the objectives set out for students.
DPI will unveil unpacking documents for sixth through eighth grade history classes and the four required high school social studies classes in July. The heaviest debate occurred in discussions of changes at the high school level.