Lexington County’s largest school district has settled a lawsuit claiming it was teaching ideas derived from critical race theory in violation of state law.

On June 20, Lexington County School District 1 reached an agreement with the S.C. Freedom Caucus, which brought the suit in November.

“Contesting this lawsuit would have redirected district resources, including employees’ time and attention, as well as taxpayers’ dollars, away from our primary focus," Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait is quoted. 

The settlement calls for the district to end agreements with EL Education, the national education nonprofit the caucus claimed was pushing ideas derived from critical race theory within the district, and to not renew any agreements with the organization for the coming school year. It also calls for the district to comply with state laws regarding instruction and staff and faculty training.

In an email explaining the settlement, Libby Roof, chief communications officer for the district, said it was voluntary and not ordered by the court. She added that the district pursued an agreement so that district and school administrators could give their full attention to their students.

In a news release, S.C. Freedom Caucus Vice Chair RJ May, a Republican state representative whose District 88 is wholly contained within Lexington County, claimed the settlement as a victory for his group.

“The terms of this settlement agreement show Lexington School District 1 was caught red handed peddling the Left’s pernicious, racist nonsense,” he is quoted. “This is a win for the Freedom Caucus, for parents, but most importantly, this is a win for students who will no longer be subjected to radical, liberal indoctrination by the District.” 

Caucus Chair Adam Morgan, a Republican state representative from Greenville, says in the release that career politicians were afraid to take on teacher unions and education establishments and gaslit parents across the state when the caucus filed its lawsuit by claiming that critical race theory was not being taught in classrooms.

“Despite the naysayers, the Freedom Caucus persevered, and won,” Morgan is quoted. “It’s time for our moderate Republican colleagues to support the conservative values the SCFC is championing. Regardless, with or without them, the Freedom Caucus will continue to fight for parents, teachers and students."  

The suit derived from a video the caucus shared featuring audio provided by Adam Mahdavi, who said he is a former student teacher for the district. The group claimed the video captures Tarika Sullivan, professional development specialist for EL Education, speaking about how her organization has worked with Lexington 1 schools Meadow Glen Elementary, River Bluff High and Lexington Middle (now Lakeside). 

The woman the video indicated to be Sullivan is captured saying the curriculum EL Education was helping with was inclusive of culturally relevant teachings and that some topics go against mainstream teaching.

According to a release, the district initiated an internal review of the EL Education curriculum to ensure state law was being followed and that the curriculum best served its students and their educational goals.

The district said the internal review didn’t reveal any violations of state law.

According to the release, if the suit had gone to court, the district would have faced broad requests to produce nine categories of documents, communications and materials.

“To fight with the Plaintiffs over the district’s use of words like ‘decolonize,’ ‘race,’ ‘colorblind,’ ‘colorblindness,’ ‘affirmative action,’ ‘inclusion,’ ‘underrepresented,’ and ‘allies,’ would have been a colossal waste of time and a huge waste of taxpayer’s dollars.” Roof said.

According to the release, the settlement will allow the district to refocus all resources toward supporting best practices in teaching and learning that cultivate student engagement that’s supported by family and community participation.

"We owed it to our entire community to find a solution that did not involve a lengthy and costly legal battle and to affirm that our district is, in fact, in compliance with all state laws,” Superintendent Postlewait is quoted. “We are proud of the high quality public education Lexington One educators provide, and we want to put this matter behind us so that schools may receive the benefit of our full support “