Crawfordsville Community School Corp. lifted the mask mandate for district facilities effective immediately Thursday, joining the rest of the county’s schools in making face coverings optional for students, staff and visitors.
The school board voted without discussion to end the policy following a recommendation from Superintendent Dr. Scott Bowling, who indicated the order could be revisited based on local coronavirus case numbers.
“We could change it if we have to. We’ve all committed to that,” Bowling said following the vote.
The decision comes less than a month before students return to the classroom Aug. 4 and more than a week after Indiana’s mask order for school buildings expired on June 30. The state left the decision whether to require masks beyond then up to individual school districts.
Masks are currently still required on school buses under federal rules.
About 20 parents and staff members attended the board meeting but there was no public comment on the policy. Administrators and most board members were masked as the meeting began and most of them removed their masks after the vote was taken.
North and South Montgomery announced in mid-June that masks would not be required in school buildings or at after-school events for the upcoming academic year under the state’s current guidance.
Crawfordsville parents received an identical message from the district Friday morning.
Montgomery County remains in the yellow for coronavirus spread on the state’s COVID-19 map.
Bowling also addressed the board on critical race theory, which he said has generated a lot of calls into his office amid media coverage of the issue.
Critical race theory is an academic framework that examines history through the lens of racism. It centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society.
“We don’t teach critical race theory in the schools nor is there a plan to bring that forward as a new curriculum for Crawfordsville schools,” Bowling said.
“Thank God,” an audience member replied.
Many Republicans view the concepts underlying critical race theory as an effort to rewrite American history and persuade white people that they are inherently racist and should feel guilty because of their advantages.
But the theory also has become somewhat of a catchall phrase to describe racial concepts some conservatives find objectionable, such as white privilege, systemic inequality and inherent bias.
More than two-dozen states have considered legislation or other steps to limit how race and racism can be taught, according to an analysis from Education Week.
Eight states, all Republican-led, have banned or limited the teaching of critical race theory or similar concepts through laws or administrative actions. The bans largely address what can be taught inside the classroom. While bills in some states mention critical race theory by name, others do not.
Teachers’ unions, educators and social studies organizations worry the limits will whitewash American history by downplaying the role past injustices still play today. They also fear a chilling effect on classroom discussions.
Leading critical race theory scholars view the GOP-led measures as hijacking the national conversation about racial inequality that gained momentum after the killing of George Floyd by a white people officer in Minnesota.
Some say the ways Republicans describe it are unrecognizable to them. Cheryl Harris, a UCLA law professor who teaches a course on the topic, said it’s a myth that critical race theory teaches hatred of white people and is designed to perpetuate divisions in American society. Instead, she said she believes the proposals have a clear political goal — “to ensure that Republicans can win in 2022.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
