AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Monday he's taking legal action against Austin ISD, alleging the district may have violated state law banning the teaching of critical race theory.
According to a release from the AG's office, Paxton is seeking to depose members of the AISD Board of Trustees along with Superintendent Matias Segura as part of an investigation into "whether there is an unwritten policy of developing and teaching" critical race theory.
“It’s outrageous that Austin ISD officials think they can ignore state law to put woke indoctrination in Texas classrooms,” Paxton said in a statement. “My office has begun the legal process to depose Austin ISD leaders, and we will fully investigate the district’s policies involving the teaching of illegal CRT curriculum to make sure state law is enforced. I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that Texas school officials are focused on helping students receive a world-class education, not subject them to liberal, anti-American ideology.”
According to the release, the AG's office "was made aware of an Austin ISD official" implying they were using materials linked to the 1619 Project. Another district employee stated that "there were 'ways to get around' the state’s ban" on teaching critical race theory.
Lawmakers in 2021 passed a bill banning the teaching of CRT as well as specifically banning the 1619 Project, published by the New York Times, which looks to “reframe the country’s history by placing consequences of slavery and the the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.”