A charter school in Utah made a U-turn on its decision to allow families to “exercise their civil rights” and opt their children out of lessons relating to Black History Month, after facing a major backlash online.
“We regret that after receiving requests, an opt-out form was sent out concerning activities planned during this month of celebration,” Maria Montessori Academy’s board of directors announced on Sunday.
The school in North Ogden, which has a majority white student base according to the Utah State Board of Education, uses Black History Month to incorporate specific teachings about the history of black Americans in both social studies and history classes. After receiving a handful of complaints, last week the school sent families an opt-out letter offering everyone the option to “exercise their civil rights to not participate in Black History Month at the school.”
However, the move soon made national news and outrage spread online, with some calling the move racist. Faced with the backlash and growing attention from the media and politicians, school officials apparently rushed to hold a meeting with parents to resolve the issue.
“We are grateful that families that initially had questions and concerns have willingly come to the table to resolve any differences and at this time no families are opting out of our planned activities and we have removed this option,” the school’s director, Micah Hirokawa, said, noting that “in the future, we will handle all parental concerns on an individual basis.”
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