COLUMBIA, S.C. — Parents, current and retired teachers, and state representatives gathered early Friday morning on the steps of the South Carolina Statehouse to express their concerns over the state’s Department of Education and their decision to partner with PragerU, a conservative nonprofit organization.
"‘Do not refuse God's name,' 'If there is no God, then murder isn’t wrong,’ ‘What are Judeo-Christian values?’” quoted Courtney Thomas with the ACLU, referring to video titles from PragerU.
The South Carolina Department of Education announced this week that they will join six other states in partnering with PragerU. The nonprofit group aims to promote what it describes as "American values," with the stated goal of countering "the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education," according to its website.
“Superintendent Weaver is purposely recommending that Christian values be instilled in our public schools, and that is blatantly antithetical to the First Amendment of the Constitution,” said Thomas. “What about our Muslim students, or Jewish students, or the non-theistic students? These overtly Christian videos have no place in our public education system.”
The controversy has raised alarms among educators like Mike Burgess, a history teacher from Lexington One and a former South Carolina History Teacher of the Year. Burgess said the partnership is deeply concerning.
“I have an obligation to ensure that history is taught fully, fairly, and honestly,” Burgess explained. “Without such teaching, we have a limited understanding of the past, no way to comprehend the present, and no hope of shaping a better future.”
Burgess, who identifies as a Reagan Republican, criticized the partnership, arguing that providing a one-sided perspective of American history does a disservice to public school students.
“If you wonder why our children are deficient in civics or their understanding of American history, it is not because of critical race theory. It’s because of this obsession with implementing far-right extremist Christian nationalist doctrine in our schools,” Burgess said.
Although the PragerU content is optional for teachers, Burgess and his colleagues are questioning the recent removal of the optional AP African American Studies course from the curriculum. “She [Superintendent Weaver] took away that opportunity for thousands of South Carolina students,” Burgess added. “And while she says PragerU is optional, how is that any different?”
News19 contacted the South Carolina Department of Education for comment. The department said the partnership's goal is to “provide a level playing field for all districts to access materials they might otherwise not have the resources or bandwidth to provide.”
PragerU and some partnership supporters did not respond to requests for comment.