Sutherland Institute submitted the following statement to Gov. Spencer J. Cox in response to calls for a ban on Critical Race Theory.

Good civics education policy already exists in the law. Let’s look locally to determine how well our schools are teaching what is required of them by law.

Free college and debt cancellation – ultimately paid for by taxpayers – is the wrong approach to America’s student loan problem. Instead, we should reduce student loan debt by encouraging innovation in higher education that lowers college costs upfront.

Biden has wasted no time using the bully pulpit to call for reform during his first days in office. Of course, many of those reforms will take consensus from multiple branches and different levels of government in order to pan out. It remains to be seen whether the American people are willing to go in the direction that Biden wants to lead them.

We can no longer avoid this harsh truth: Despite the high value we place on education, we have allowed an atrophy to occur. We have ignored the gradual reduction of history and civics and accepted the erosion of content and context — and consequently, truth that enables leadership. This lack of accurate information leaves current and future generations unacceptably vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation.

The background section of the rule explains that a major focus of this federal effort is addressing racism in America, which according to statements from the Biden administration is likely part of “an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda.”

“Civics education has become as polarized as the nation. Progressives have one version, and conservatives have another. This is a big problem because sound history should tell our common story, and civics should help us chart our common future,” says David Bobb, president of the Bill of Rights Institute.

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down in-person schools and forced students into online learning for a time. While some students and families struggled under an online learning structure, some actually preferred it. Jordan School District decided to honor that by continuing an online option for all grade levels K-12.

The Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” infrastructure proposal is getting attention, mostly for its price tag – $2.25 trillion – but also for the broad swaths of American life that it covers.

What’s the difference between curriculum and standards? What is civics education versus social studies? What is Critical Race Theory?