“The legislature plans to continue the important work of dismantling institutional racism in public schools and recognizes the importance of increasing equity, diversity, inclusion, antiracism, and cultural competency training throughout the entire public school system….”
On May 5, Governor Jay Inslee of Washington signed Senate Bill 5044 into law, which requires Critical Race Theory (CRT) training for all school staff, board directors, teachers, and administrators in public schools across the state.
The Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee introduced Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5044 in December 2020. The final version, amended by the House, says:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that state resources have been invested to:
(a) Identify model standards for cultural competency;
(b) incorporate these cultural competency standards into both the standards for effective teaching and the standards of practice for paraeducators;
[…]
