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PA Education Department agrees to cancel requirement for teachers to adopt guidelines deemed 'woke'

The guidelines included mandating teachers to "design learning experiences and spaces for learners to identify and question economic, political, and social power structures in the school" and "disrupt harmful institutional practices, policies, and norms."

The Thomas More Society, a faith-based legal group, filed a lawsuit against the PDE in April 2023 on behalf of a group of parents and public school districts who argued the mandate violated their First Amendment rights.

Pennsylvania state Capitol building in Harrisburg. (John Greim/Getty Images)

"We are incredibly pleased with this settlement agreement, which forces the Pennsylvania Department of Education to rescind the state’s ‘Culturally-Relevant and Sustaining Education’ guidelines – securing an important victory for Pennsylvania parents, students, and teachers," Thomas Breth, special counsel for the Thomas More Society, said in a statement.

"Our agreement is a triumph against the Department’s blatantly ideological and illegal attempt to inject ‘woke’ activism into school curricula across Pennsylvania, which demanded educators affirm their belief in these ideological tenets and then impose the same upon their students," Breth added.

Just days after the settlement, the department issued new suggestions under their new "Common Ground Framework," though schools are no longer required to comply with the guidelines.

Pennsylvania was requiring schools to adopt a set of instructions on how to approach teaching under their "Culturally-Relevant and Sustaining Education Program Framework Guidelines" (CR-SE). (iStock)

Asked about the settlement, PDE highlighted their new guidelines in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

"PDE is proud to offer this resource as an improvement on previously issued guidance, with an expanded focus on digital literacy, mental health, and trauma – real issues that impact those in all spaces of learning within every Pennsylvania community," Erin James, PDE press secretary, said in a statement.

The new guidelines encourage educators to "understand the importance of differences in marginalized learners and historically underrepresented groups," such as gender identity, according to the department's website. 

Additionally, teachers in the state are still encouraged to "create an equitable learning environment by challenging and debunking stereotypes and biases about the intelligence, academic ability, and behavior of historically marginalized learners."