Several District 49 Board of Education members called on each other to resign at Thursday’s meeting. The events were the culmination of what some board members call “a series of inflammatory issues.”

Board President John Graham opened by urging Ivy Liu to resign, saying he has “lost all confidence” in her ability to lead. Should she oblige, he said, he will follow suit and resign also.

“Director Liu has broken the trust of this District and community. Maybe that was not the intent initially, but you do not put your foot in your mouth this often without breaking teeth. Whatever the intent is, the results – and results are what matters – are unnecessarily destructive,” Graham said.

Hitler quoted by Colorado Springs-area school board member, board says hands are tied

Hundreds of attendees were divided in their support and opposition of individual board members. The board met fragmented applause and “boos” after voting 3-2 to censure Liu for recent actions on social media, in which she quoted Adolf Hitler in a criticism of social-emotional learning (SEL).

The calls for resignation opened a tumultuous meeting in which Liu fought back and reiterated her criticisms of alleged “indoctrination” via the district’s SEL programming. In response, Liu called for Graham to resign instead.

Late in the evening, the board voted down an amendment that would prohibit minors from receiving vaccination services on district property. Current policy allows minors to receive vaccinations when accompanied by a parent.

The board also voted – this time unanimously – to ban the teaching of “critical race theory” in schools. The action fulfilled an August 2021 resolution that passed in a 3-2 vote, which is believed to have made D-49 the first district in Colorado to approve such a ban.

The regulation is almost identical to last year’s resolution, according to district CEO Peter Hilts. However, solidifying the measure as a regulation allows the district to hold violators accountable and provides implementation guidance.

Social-emotional learning, banning ‘critical race theory’ on D-49 meeting agenda

Despite this new regulation, Liu voiced concern that CRT lessons on social justice and equality will continue to be taught by way of SEL . This position brought her under fire last week when she quoted Hitler in a private Facebook post, a move she said was to warn parents not to let history repeat itself. Community and fellow board members were quick to condemn the post, which some interpreted as an attack against district educators.

“‘He alone, WHO OWNS THE YOUTH, gains the future.’ Adolf Hitler,” her post reads. “Fight back the Critical Race Theory (CRT) concepts that are deceptively hidden in many of the latest Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs from CASEL.org. Not all SELs are bad but some are insidiously programmed to do just what our enemies intend.”

During public comment, Rabbi Jay Sherwood of Temple Shalom joined board members Graham and Rick Van Wieren’s calls for Liu to resign. He also offered District 49 his services in connecting them with Holocaust education and culturally intelligent resources.

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“Nothing in modern history compares to the Holocaust as an expression of the depths that can be reached by man’s inhumanity to man, yet this is exactly what Ms. Liu has done in her Facebook post,” Sherwood said. “Comparing political opponents to Hitler and his Nazi regime insults the memory of those who were murdered and is an affront to those who were survivors.”

The SEL curriculum referenced by Liu focuses on educational equity by helping students “develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals,” among other objectives, according to CASEL.org. Proponents say SEL is a positive way of developing people skills and managing one’s own feelings, thus decreasing violent behavior, depression and anxiety among young students.

Remington Elementary saw office referrals decrease by “well over 50%” after implementing morning circles, according to Hilts. The SEL-based circles have teachers checking in with their students each morning to see how they are feeling.

Critics such as Liu, however, say the curriculum is a waste of money at best, and a subtle form of indoctrination at worst.

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Liu described SEL as a behavioral psychology tool to transform children’s core values and attitudes. The district should instead focus its attention and money on reading, writing and arithmetic, she said.

Such statements, according to Hilts, are why district members accuse Liu of attacking district educators.

“When I hear these accusations of indoctrination, brainwashing, manipulation and recruitment, they have to relate back to a person,” Hilts said. “None of those things can happen without personal agency. Curriculum cannot indoctrinate without humans,”

Hilts invites any district parent to contact him directly at philts@d49.org with any reports of indoctrination. If there is one report, he said he will openly share that case with the community.

There have yet to be any indoctrination reports levied against the district, Graham said.