BOULDER, CO (December 14, 2021)—The Manhattan Institute recently released a report that manufactures a case against Critical Race Theory (CRT), building on a foundation of right-wing talking points.

Professor Kevin D. Brown, the Richard S. Melvin Professor of Indiana University Maurer School of Law, reviewed How to Regulate Critical Race Theory in Schools: A Primer and Model Legislation, examining several of the ways that the report mischaracterizes CRT.

The report offers model legislation as a tool for countering schools’ purported CRT-inspired indoctrination. It contends that CRT is the foundation of a widespread effort by public schools to forcibly indoctrinate students and teaching staff to support an anti-conservative, anti-civil rights, anti-White, and anti-American agenda. However, as Professor Brown explains, the report’s errant conclusions were derived from misleading anecdotal evidence and a misrepresentation of important literature.

He details how the report is less about sound policy than it is about creating partisan talking points and unproductive controversy. He also cautions that the model legislation might, if adopted, lead to contentious anti-discrimination litigation. For these reasons, Professor Brown concludes, the Manhattan report does not provide serious guidance to lawmakers interested in understanding or legislating about issues related to race in schools.

Find the review, by Kevin D. Brown, at:
https://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/crt-regulation

Find How to Regulate Critical Race Theory in Schools: A Primer and Model Legislation, written by James Copland and published by the Manhattan Institute, at:
https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/copland-crt-legislation.pdf