by Dan Regenold

Equity plans for Schools in Ohio and across the Greater Cincinnati Area are proliferating like a bad case of Covid-19.  Just this week I’ve heard complaints from parents in Mariemont, Lakota, Kings, Princeton, Northwest Schools, Loveland, Fairfield, Forest Hills and Wyoming.  Problems also exist around Columbus, Cleveland and many areas around Ohio.  Fifty-one Educational Service Centers state-wide are tapping into excessive government “Covid-relief” money and have put their claws into schools telling them they need Critical Race Theory, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plans to stay relevant.

When recently reading one of these 16-page Equity Agreements I had two general observations. One observation was that the entire upper-level Management Team for this district was being held responsible for implementing a very complicated Equity program.  Would there be any time left in the day for the Management Team to focus on Reading, Writing, Math and Science? The other observation I had was three years from now, when the Equity Program is complete, would all the Students come out of school feeling like they were oppressors or victims? Would they hate each other and America? Would they have the tools needed for successful futures?

None of the Schools in our area will admit to teaching Critical Race Theory and if you read the Enquirer and the Editorials they have run– which all say the same thing—you might believe it.  But the facts point to a huge push in education policy towards Equity, indoctrination and Critical Race Theory.  We all need a better understanding of what this buzzword “Equity” really means. “Equity” promotes Equal Outcomes for all students which means that some students will be held back and will not reach their full potential. This is about as harmful as many government-led programs – for example, that greater than $1 Billion dollars in unemployment fraud was allowed by our State government.

I don’t completely blame the schools for Critical Race Theory training, which came into focus during Covid-lockdowns when students were learning remotely. In July 2020 the Ohio State Board of Education set in process Resolution 20 to Condemn Racism and Promote Equity.  If you haven’t read this mess, please do so as it clearly signals to Ohio the onset of Critical Race Theory. Add to Resolution 20, Governor DeWine released Ohio’s Executive Response: A Plan of Action to Advance Equity in August 2020 signaling his support for these destructive policies. Governor DeWine has been curiously silent and clearly is not leading any type of policy change in regards to Critical Race Theory as other governors are doing.

What I’d like the Schools to do, is to take each dollar that would be spent on an Equity plan and spend it on teaching our kids about the incredible opportunity of America—the American Dream. Let’s spend a dollar teaching Entrepreneurship, teach about the number of diverse people across the Country being radically successful, and yes, maybe teach more history about our great Country. Maybe even talk a bit about what would have happened to the entire Continent of Europe if those racist Americans hadn’t stepped in to save the world.

Instead of training each child to come out of an Equity program feeling shame as an oppressor or an oppressed victim with a chip on their shoulder, I’d like to see kids come out of school understanding that each of them was created equally, by God, and yes, that each of them can obtain a bright future. Because the truth of matter is, they can.  Parents, it’s a joy to see you step up and start to take back your schools and stop accepting mediocre results and racism dog whistles.  You can do this!

Daniel P. Regenold,

StopCriticalRaceTheory.com

A Coalition of 39 Ohio Groups Against Critical Race Theory