More than 100 participate in race theory town halls

After nearly five hours of public comment and around 110 participants, Douglas County School Board trustees are scheduled to discuss critical race theory at their November meeting.

No one on the school board or at the district has expressed any interest in adding the controversial theory to the curriculum.

“Critical race theory is not a kindergarten through 12th-grade curriculum,” Superintendent Keith Lewis said in a letter to parents. “(It) is not part of the Nevada Academic Content Standards (or) an adopted curriculum in our district or state.”

Lewis said the district isn’t aware of any plans on the part of the state Board of Education to revise the standards to include teaching the theory, nor is anyone on the board or the district advocating for teaching it in the classroom.

“Contrary to what some believe, the DCSD Board of Trustees are not holding town hall meetings as a precursor to implementing Critical Race Theory in our school district,” Lewis said.

The district conducted the meetings at the request of school board trustee Doug Englekirk, who has been a consistent opponent of teaching the theory.

Of the speakers during two town halls at Whittell and Douglas high schools, only a few had students in the schools.

U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt, who has been campaigning in opposition to the theory, spoke at the Douglas High town hall.

"I call on this board to permanently ban critical race theory and all of its appendages, no games, lead the state, show the state that this county is going to ban this,” he said. “You will force other counties to follow suit. We will start the domino to raise the temperature of parents that are rising up all over this country.”

Lewis tried to define the theory in his letter to parents ahead of the meeting.

“The theory generally rests on the premise that racial bias — intentional or not — is baked into U.S. laws and institutions.”

Opponents say it divides students by race.

School board trustees are expected to determine what to do about all the input at their Nov. 9 or Dec. 14 meetings.