The Placentia-Yorba Linda School Board voted Tuesday night to ban the teaching of critical race theory in its classrooms, the first such rule in Orange County.
In a 3-2 vote, board members passed a resolution stating the district “will not include Critical Race Theory as a framework in any course offerings.”
Following impassioned pleas from parents and students advocating both sides of the debate, board members made some final tweaks to the resolution before passing it. One addition is intended to alleviate concerns that the College Board might drop its Advance Placement designation on some courses in the district if certain topics cannot be discussed.
Opponents of the resolution to ban critical race theory silently raise their signs to express their disapproval after the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board voted to adopt the resolution banning the teaching of critical race theory during a board meeting in Placentia on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board members, from left, Marilyn Anderson, Leandra Blades, and Shawn Youngblood cast a yea vote to adopt the resolution to ban critical race theory from being taught in district schools during a board meeting in Placentia on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parents and students fill the board room at the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board in Placentia in Placentia on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 as public speakers voice their opposition or support for the resolution to ban the teaching of critical race theory. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Andy Falco Jimenez, left, leads those in favor of the resolution to ban the teaching of critical race theory in prayer before the start of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board in Placentia in Placentia on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. The school board later voted to adopt the resolution banning the teaching of critical race theory. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parents in favor of the resolution to ban the teaching of critical race theory bow their head in prayer before the start of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board in Placentia in Placentia on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. The school board later voted to adopt the resolution banning the teaching of critical race theory. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Marilyn Anderson, vice president of Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board holds up a book on her family history to illustrate why she will vote to adopt the resolution to ban the teaching of critical race theory during a school board meeting in Placentia on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. The board voted 3-2 to adopt the resolution to ban the teaching of critical race theory in district schools. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parents and students opposing the resolution to ban the teaching of critical race theory hold up signs in protest during a Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board meeting in Placentia in Placentia on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. At the end of the night the school board voted 3-2 to adopt the resolution to ban teaching of critical race theory in district schools. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parents and students sit outside in the overflow seating as over 200 people packed the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board in Placentia in Placentia on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 as the school board considered the resolution to ban the teach of critical race theory. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“This resolution will not alter the existing content currently taught in all certified AP and IB courses so as to not jeopardize the integrity of the coursework and risk losing certification.”
