On April 23, 2022, the final form amendments to Chapter 49 regulations, which provide for certification of teachers and other professional personnel, were approved and became effective. The regulations included a new term not in the Public School Code of 1949, "culturally relevant and sustaining education” (CRSE).
The regulations require the integration of CRSE in educator preparation programs, teacher induction plans, and continuing professional development plans. PDE threatened to withhold funding from all school entities unless the entities fully adopted and incorporated the guidelines into their trainings and curriculum. They also were designed to withhold teaching certifications for new and existing teachers until the accompanying trainings were satisfactorily completed. The trainings were arguably unconstitutional and rooted in ideological agendas, going so far as to state that “equity requires a passport to discriminate.” The guidelines required teachers to:
- Actively counter deficit-based and invalidating behavior in themselves and others by engaging in affirming practices.
- Challenge their own beliefs, attitudes, assumptions and behaviors regarding the knowledge and backgrounds of dominant and non-dominant social groups, thinking critically about the nuances of culture, identity, and other social markers, and how they manifest themselves in curricula and other education materials.
- Know and acknowledge that biases exist in the educational system, disrupt harmful institutional practices, policies, and norms by advocating and engaging in efforts to rewrite policies, change practices, and raise awareness.
- Engage in critical and difficult conversations with others to deepen their awareness of their own conscious/unconscious biases, stereotypes, and prejudices.
After rescinding the original CRSE guidelines as the result of a lawsuit, PDE has now deployed the “Common Ground Framework Guidelines” to satisfy the CR-SE regulations. These guidelines direct teachers to focus on mental health, race and sexual or gender identity. The guidelines, if adopted, even require teachers to create self-care plans. Minors’ mental health issues need to be handled by credentialed and qualified providers in tandem with parents, not teachers. Race should not be a divisive factor in our country or education system – we are all Americans with equal rights and protection of the laws. Discussions of sexual and gender identity have no place in our primary or high schools. We need to get our teachers back to doing what they do best – teaching non-negotiable subjects of math, reading and writing.
Please join me in abrogating the Chapter 49 regulations insofar as they relate to CR-SE.
Statutes/Laws affected: Printer's No. 1539 (Apr 30, 2025): P.L.30, No.14