Teaching Lab stated the video was “deceptively produced and edited.”
“The views expressed by the employee in these recordings are not the views of Teaching Lab, and are inaccurate and regrettable,” the statement said.
Project Veritas is known for its sting operations, in which people mask their real identities to infiltrate political or media organizations, then record and publish private communications. Last year, the group was found liable by a federal jury for violating wiretapping laws and misrepresenting itself in an undercover effort to target Democratic political consultants. The group was planning to appeal the verdict, Reuters reported.
Critical race theory is an academic concept based on the idea that the country’s history of slavery and segregation has affected many parts of American society. It cites laws and economic practices adopted to limit African-Americans’ economic and educational opportunities and citizenship and argues that racial discrimination is built into many institutions.
Conservative lawmakers in Georgia banned critical race theory and a list of similar concepts from being taught in schools last year, and established a complaint process for parents who were concerned about any potential violations of the law.
Public school leaders say the theory itself is not taught in K-12 classrooms, but critics say its tenets about systemic inequity have influenced teachers and curriculum. Some colleges and universities, particularly at the graduate level, use CRT principles in their coursework.
Teaching Lab said in a statement that critical race theory is not a part of its professional learning model, and it does not operate or distribute its materials in Georgia.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
The Georgia Department of Education emphasized in a statement that attempts to “promote or push these ideologies in Georgia schools are illegal.”
“We are in communication with both school districts explicitly mentioned to verify whether the information in the video is accurate, and are working to ensure these materials have not been adopted in other districts,” the department said in a statement. “We will direct any district using these materials to discontinue their use.”