Draft Nebraska Health Education Standards and Critical Race Theory (CRT)

Draft Nebraska Health Education Standards and Critical Race Theory (CRT)

Nebraska Health Education Standards

Scottsbluff Public Schools is pleased that the Nebraska Department of Education has taken under advisement the concerns voiced by patrons and school boards regarding the initial draft of the Nebraska Health Education Standards. SBPS will begin reviewing the second draft of the standards and providing additional feedback to NDE in the coming weeks. Patrons are encouraged to provide feedback on the second draft of the standards by visiting the NDE website at https://www.education.ne.
gov/healthed/health-education-standards-development/
.

Critical Race Theory

Scottsbluff Public Schools and the Scottsbluff Board of Education are committed to ensuring diverse perspectives are represented in all aspects of our school system. This is evident by the SBPS Declaration of Commitment to Equitable Treatment and Opportunity for All Students that the Board of Education made in 2020.

Scottsbluff Public Schools has adopted the Nebraska State Social Studies Standards (2019) which provide guidance for the state's public schools. Our goal as a district is to provide multiple perspectives on the historical events and issues that have shaped our state and nation in a manner that is free from bias. Below are examples from the Nebraska Social Studies Standards that incorporate multiple perspectives. Specifically, critical race theory is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old and is generally taught in college and graduate-level courses. Critical race theory is not included in the curriculum taught in Scottsbluff Public Schools.

Examples of Nebraska Social Studies Standards that incorporate multiple perspectives:

Elementary

Multiple Perspectives

  • SS 4.4.2 Analyze and explain multiple perspectives of events in Nebraska, including historically marginalized and underrepresented groups.

○ SS 4.4.2.a Compare and contrast primary and secondary sources to

better understand multiple perspectives of the same event. For example: The Homestead Act, Oregon Trail diaries, military journal of Ponca

Removal, Standing Bear testimony

Middle School

Multiple Perspectives

  • SS 7.4.2 Use multiple perspectives to examine the historical, social, and cultural context of past and current events.

○ SS 7.4.2.a Analyze evidence from multiple perspectives and sources to better understand the complexities of world history. For example: caste system, partition of India, Ibn Battuta, Zheng He, Marco Polo, Mansa Musa, Mongol Empire, Berlin Conference, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Latin American revolutions, Columbian Exchange

○ SS 7.4.2.b Compare and contrast primary and secondary sources to better understand multiple perspectives of the same event. For example: foundational texts of world religions

  • SS 7.4.3 Examine historical events from the perspectives of marginalized and underrepresented groups.

○ SS 7.4.3.a Identify how differing experiences can lead to the

development of perspectives. For example: religious, ethnic and racial groups

○ SS 7.4.3.b Interpret perspectives of marginalized and underrepresented regions around the world. For example: civilizations from all regions of the world

  • SS 8.4.3 Examine historical events from the perspectives of marginalized and underrepresented groups.

○ SS 8.4.3.a Identify how differing experiences can lead to the

development of perspectives. For example: Compare primary accounts by American Indian peoples and American settlers regarding the

expansion of the United States.

○ SS 8.4.3.b Interpret how and why marginalized and underrepresented groups and/or individuals might understand historical events similarly or differently. For example: Compare how differing Native American groups and Spanish-speaking peoples responded to the Indian Removal Act and the Mexican-American War.

High School

Multiple Perspectives

  • SS HS.4.2 (US) Analyze the complexity of the interaction of multiple perspectives to investigate causes and effects of significant events in the development of history.

○ SS HS.4.2.a (US) Identify and evaluate how considering multiple perspectives facilitates an understanding of history. For example:

Nineteenth Amendment, 1924 National Origins Act, Indian

Reorganization Act of 1934, Bracero program, Civil Rights Movement ○ SS HS.4.2.b (US) Evaluate the relevancy, accuracy, and completeness of primary and secondary sources to better understand multiple

perspectives of the same event. For example: Theodore Roosevelt's New Nationalism and Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom, Indian

Reorganization Act and responses from tribal leaders, differing

strategies in the struggle to gain black equality

  • SS HS.4.3 (US) Examine historical events from the perspectives of marginalized and underrepresented groups.

○ SS HS.4.3.a (US) Identify how differing experiences can lead to the development of perspectives. For example: religious, racial or ethnic groups, immigrants, women, LGBTQ persons, and Native American nations

○ SS HS.4.3.b (US) Interpret how and why marginalized and

underrepresented groups and/or individuals might understand historical events similarly or differently. For example: Immigration and

Naturalization Act of 1965, Stonewall Riots, American Indian Movement, Equal Rights Amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964, West Virginia v. Barnette, United Farm Workers

More information on the Nebraska Social Studies Standards can be found at https://www.education.ne.gov/socialstudies/.