COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.– The District 49 Board of Education has voted to ban the teaching of critical race theory in all district schools.

John Graham, Ivy Liu and Rick Van Wieren voted yea. Kevin Butcher and Dave Cruson voted nay.

This motion came after several impassioned speeches delivered by many community members.

One woman, a District 49 parent in support of critical race theory said, “We do not become great by sticking our fingers in our ears and pretending we have no flaws. There is no shame in saying that we still have far to go…that constant striving to better ourselves–that is American exceptionalism…I am not afraid of our history. The real question is, why are you?”

Feelings continued to run high, with one woman against the teaching of the theory saying, “My mother was Hispanic, Native American, raised in poverty, and she was the first in her family to graduate high school. She was the first to graduate college and she was the first to become a homeowner. I do not come from a family that says I am defined by anything as artificial as the color of my skin, the color of my skin, my ancestry or anything else.”

Once the community speeches had concluded, each board member gave a brief explanation as to the reason why they were choosing to vote a certain way.

School board director Ivy Liu, the school board director, said prior to her vote, “As long as I am a D49 school board member, it will be my single-minded mission to ensure that D49 remains one of the top-notch districts and protection from any infusion of insidious indoctrination.”

Her statement was met with a standing ovation from many meeting attendees.

Afterward, the board addressed various construction projects that had been completed during the summer of 2021, the 2021 summer meals program and more.

To read the full meeting agenda, click here.