Missouri sues large school district for breaking open record laws on critical race theory materials

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Tuesday sued one of the state's largest school districts, alleging it has violated open records laws in an effort to thwart public disclosure of critical race theory training materials for teachers and curriculum for students.

Schmitt's lawsuit charges the Springfield Public Schools with 13 counts of violating the state Sunshine Law that include charging exorbitant fees for records. The move comes a day after Just the News reported that the school district's training materials suggested teachers could be engaged in white supremacist behavior just by insisting on English language in classes, calling police on a black suspect or using the term "All lives matter."

Schmitt's announcement cited some of the training materials cited in the Just the News article, including an "oppression matrix." The attorney general himself has filed open records requests seeking such records from the school district.

"Parents have every right to know exactly what is being taught to their children, especially when public school systems are implementing components of critical race theory and so-called 'antiracism' teachings in teacher trainings and applying social justice scorecards to math and other core curriculum," Schmitt said in his announcement.