ACLU argues Noem, DOE 'likely' break laws by removing Oceti Sakowin from social studies standards - Argus Leader
Recent changes to a draft of the state’s social studies standards “likely” violate federal and constitutional law, the ACLU of South Dakota said in a letter to Gov. Kristi Noem and the Board of Education Standards dated Tuesday.
The ACLU alleges the Department of Education’s removal of more than a dozen explicit references to the Oceti Sakowin that were included in a draft of social studies standards by a workgroup of nearly 50 educators and experts before the draft was released publicly likely violates federal Equal Protection and First Amendment provisions in the U.S. Constitution.
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What laws the ACLU allege are likely broken
In the letter, the ACLU argues that the government violates the Equal Protection Clause if discrimination was a “motivating factor” behind an action, even if it was not the sole purpose for the state’s decision. Courts would consider whether the decision causes a “racially discriminatory impact.”
Removing these topics also likely violates Article VIII, Section 1 of the South Dakota Constitution, which guarantees students the right to schools that are “equally open to all” and requires the DOE to “adopt all suitable means to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education.”
The changes “deprive students of their right to receive information and ideas, and racially discriminate or have the effect of racially discriminating against Native Americans in South Dakota,” Stephanie Amiotte, legal director for the ACLU of South Dakota, said in a statement. “It also censors information provided to students based on race.”
Convening the second workgroup to start the standards revision process over again doesn’t correct constitutional violations created by the DOE, the ACLU said, unless the second workgroup includes more or the same amount of Native American topics in their draft of the standards.
And the DOE has failed to refute in any legal, factual or logical manner why the first workgroup’s recommendations shouldn’t be followed, as well as failed to justify disregarding that committee’s recommendations and starting the process again, the ACLU argues in its letter.
What does the ACLU want to see changed in the social studies standards?
Litigation challenging the removal of more than a dozen explicit references to the Oceti Sakowin could be avoided, the ACLU states, by doing the following:
The DOE adopting all recommendations of the first content standards revision committee for Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings (OSEU) and Native American topics before convening the second workgroup; as well as ensuring the second workgroup recommend more OSEU and Native American topics in the revised content standards.
This is a developing story. Stay with the Argus Leader for updates.
source: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/education/2021/10/21/gov-kristi-noem-doe-likely-break-law-south-dakota-school-standards-nixing-oceti-sakowin-topics-aclu/6119065001/
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