Pennsylvania Education: Woke Guidelines Rescinded After Lawsuit Settlement
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) officially rescinded its “Culturally-Relevant and Sustaining Education Program Framework Guidelines” (CR-SE) following a lawsuit settlement on Friday, November 22nd. This decision underscores the growing national debate over educational content and the balance between fostering inclusivity and protecting individual freedoms.
Background of the Guidelines
Implemented in 2022, the CR-SE framework required teachers to address topics such as microaggressions, unconscious biases, and institutional inequities. It also mandated that educators engage in critical discussions about economic and political power systems. The original guidelines identified nine competencies for teachers, including reflecting on one’s own cultural lens, identifying and taking steps to address bias in the system, designing culturally relevant learning, providing equitable access to learn, and educating oneself on microaggressions and their impacts. Pennsylvania’s initial framework was part of a nationwide emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives that grew out of the racial reckoning of 2020, when the nation was confronting its racist past and how it persisted in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis-and others.
Criticism and Legal Challenge
The guidelines faced criticism for mandating educators to promote ideological views on systemic biases and social power structures. The lawsuit, filed by the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit conservative law firm based in Chicago, on behalf of school districts and families, took issue with the education department’s 2022 guidelines. In a statement, Thomas Breth, one of the Thomas More Society attorneys, called the initial regulation “blatantly ideological” and an “attempt to inject ‘woke’ activism into school curricula.” The lawsuit was filed in April 2023 on behalf of three western Pennsylvania school districts-Laurel, Mars Area, and Penncrest-with attorneys arguing that the regulations violated constitutional free speech protections. The Thomas More Society shared screenshots of what it considers the most concerning aspects of the guidelines, which instructed educators to "Believe and acknowledge that microaggressions are real and take steps to educate themselves about the subtle and obvious ways in which they are used to harm and invalidate the existence of others."The guidelines encouraged teachers to "disrupt harmful institutional practices, policies, and norms by advocating and engaging in efforts to rewrite policies, change practices, and raise awareness." The guidelines also urged teachers to "engage in critical and difficult conversations with others to deepen their awareness of their own conscious/unconscious biases, stereotypes, and prejudices."Educators were advised to "[d]esign learning experiences and spaces for learners to identify and question economic, political, and social power structures in the school, community, nation, and world."
Settlement and New Framework
As part of the settlement, PDE agreed to withdraw the guidelines across all public schools, charter schools, and educational entities statewide. In response, PDE announced a new optional framework called the “Common Ground Framework.” This replacement emphasizes digital literacy, mental health awareness, and trauma-informed education while removing mandatory ideological components. Pennsylvania’s state education department will no longer require school districts to follow its initial guidelines that sought to confront racial and cultural biases in education and better prepare teachers to support students of color.
The updated guidelines borne out of the settlement are better than those that were in place before and “more accurately reflect what we’re trying to get at,” said Carrie Rowe, the deputy secretary of elementary and secondary education. She said this framework retains an emphasis on cultural awareness, but the department clarified language and added two new pieces to incorporate an emphasis on mental wellness and trauma-informed instruction. The new framework is an “effort to create an inclusive learning environment for all students,” according to the agreed-on guidelines, noting that the guidance on helping teachers handle issues surrounding mental wellness, use trauma-informed approaches to instruction, and employ technical and virtual strategies is necessary because those factors “can inhibit student success in the classroom if unaddressed.” Now, cultural awareness is a competency within the framework, but the guidelines have grown to include the two other prongs.“I believe that the plaintiffs’ concerns were really rooted in that First Amendment challenge that it could be construed through the wording of the competencies that the department was trying to impose a belief system on aspiring or current teachers,” Rowe said. “Understanding that that is not at all what we were attempting to do with these competencies, I think that’s really what allowed us to enter into a settlement agreement, where they could simply be reworded.” With the settlement, the department has issued a new framework that aims to help educators “better understand and relate to” students experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, military-connected students, children of migratory seasonal farm workers, students with disabilities, and students who have experienced trauma. Additional "Considerations for Professional Development" in the revised guidelines include low socioeconomic status, homelessness, family communication and engagement, trauma, disabilities and lack of digital and broadband accessibility.
Read also: Undergraduate Admissions at UPenn
Implications and Reactions
Supporters of the guidelines argued they promoted equity, while opponents viewed them as an overreach into political and social ideologies. This legal resolution sets a significant precedent for education policies nationwide, highlighting the challenges of implementing culturally responsive curricula in a politically divided environment. Though it might not be an outright conservative win, it’s not exactly a conservative loss either, said Jonathan Plucker, an education policy professor at Johns Hopkins’ school of education. Notably, Plucker said, the settlement did find common ground-an acknowledgement that a student’s background affects their learning. But the education department and the plaintiffs argued about what types of diversity matter.
“When stuff happens in Pennsylvania, it does tend to ripple through much of the rest of the country. The fact it’s happening there in a pretty high-profile way means lots of people are going to be watching and paying attention,” Plucker said. The settlement didn’t ban cultural competence training, and the department promptly issued new - albeit optional - guidelines that preserve much of what existed before.
The Ongoing Debate
The lawsuit underscores the growing national debate over educational content and the balance between fostering inclusivity and protecting individual freedoms. The settlement agreement also comes as Philadelphia - and the rest of the country - struggles with a teacher shortage crisis. One of the drivers of this crisis has been a steady decline in the number and proportion of teachers in Philadelphia who are Black. “The culturally relevant piece, even the symbolism of that history being taught, is a threat to many within the society,” Jimenez said. “In a city like Philadelphia half the demographic is Black students,” said Nyshawana Francis-Thompson, Philadelphia’s chief of curriculum. “We can never not teach about who they are.
Culturally relevant pedagogy stems from a framework introduced in the 1990s on the type of instruction that helps all students-especially students of color-succeed academically, accept and affirm their cultural identity, and learn how to challenge inequities. Plucker described Pennsylvania’s rescinded guidelines as “pretty typical” and not particularly “envelope-pushing.” Nationally, other schools and universities have made similar moves. But DEI efforts have increasingly come under fire, with legislation in at least 18 states banning or restricting how schools can talk about race and relentless attacks on them from Republicans through the 2024 campaign. The pendulum is swinging back, he said.“We certainly saw that happen with a lot of Supreme Court cases, affirmative action and things like that,” he said. “This all feels related to me. We moved in one direction, and now we’re moving back in the other.
Moving Forward
“I don’t mind the fact that the second iteration is better than the first. I think that’s exactly what we try to teach our students as well-to listen to the feedback around them and make adjustments where it’s necessary,” Rowe said. The framework is not required in districts’ professional development plans, and there is nothing stopping schools from using the old guidelines. Crystal Edwards, principal of the W.D. However, districts such as Philadelphia say they will continue to build culturally relevant practices into their professional development programs. Monique Braxton, a spokesperson for the district.
Read also: Decoding UPenn Transfer Admissions
Read also: Navigating the English Major
tags: #pennsylvania #education #woke #guidelines #lawsuit
