The Kansas commissioner of public education apologized Tuesday for telling attendees of an online education conference that when growing up he attempted to convince people visiting the state they should be more afraid of dangerous American Indians than violent tornadoes.
“Now is the time for the State of Kansas to act and invest in our educational systems. Our communities of color deserve better,” Carole Cadue-Blackwood writes in this letter to the Times.
The Kansas State Board of Education rejected the resignation Friday of the state education commissioner following evidence he said during a video conference that during his youth he tried to persuade children to fear for their safety among American Indians.
Kansas education commissioner Randy Watson said during a conference earlier this month that as a child, he convinced his out-of-state cousins that American Indians posed a bigger threat to their safety than tornadoes.
Gov. Laura Kelly said Thursday the state’s education commissioner must resign after making a discriminatory remark and urged the Kansas State Board of Education to work on addressing problems raised by the comments.
The Kansas State Board of Education plans to meet Friday behind closed doors to discuss an “inappropriate” comment education commissioner Randy Watson made earlier this month regarding American Indians.
In the first year and a half of the pandemic, Kansas schools have seen a decrease in enrollment and attendance and an increase in truancy and chronic absenteeism.
Kansas education commissioner Randy Watson says at least 31 Kansas schools are reporting outbreaks of COVID-19, forcing more school districts to close temporarily.
Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector
Kansas education commissioner Randy Watson says graduation rates are at an all time high, including gains in every category of at-risk students, but there is still room for improvement.
As Kansas schools face mounting pressure from parents and lawmakers to ban critical race theory from classrooms, education officials are reiterating that the college-level study is not part of the state curriculum.
