NE Franklin News

Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci is taking exception to a Jan. 23 editorial by The Columbus Dispatch that argued against bills based on fears educators will teach critical race theory (CRT) in schools.

"[This] editorial from the Columbus Dispatch makes excuses for allowing critical race theory in Ohio classrooms,” Renacci recently wrote on Twitter. “CRT isn’t about teaching history, it’s racist propaganda that divides our children by skin color. [Gov. Mike] DeWine and his friends in the liberal media just don’t get it."

The Columbus Dispatch editorial board examined the adverse effects of anti-CRT proposals in the Ohio Legislature while noting local schools don’t teach the concept in their districts.

"The proposals have been pending for months," the editorial reads. "They should be rejected outright as toxic to children and truth. These bills are not about protecting children from critical race theory, but they do create a boogeyman people fear."

According to the editorial, House Bill 327 would bar "race or sex scapegoating" and calls for "impartial instruction on the historical oppression of a particular group of people based on race, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion or geographic region."  Another bill, House Bill 322, would ban curriculum that makes a student "feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress on account of the individual's race or sex."

This isn’t the first time that Renacci has taken issue with DeWine after he gave his thoughts on the matter to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

"If DeWine didn't watch so much CNN, he would know that critical race theory has nothing to do with teaching history and everything to do with leftist propaganda that devalues our children based on the color of their skin," Renacci said, according to the West Cleveland News.

The Ohio Press Network reports that Renacci has blasted DeWine for not fighting CRT in schools and has released a blueprint to makeover public schools in the state, including barring CRT, which earned him the backing of the Ohio Value Voters.

Last summer Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro told the Statehouse News Bureau that public schools in Ohio are not teaching CRT.

“It’s not a K-12 curriculum," he told the news organization. "Critical race theory is a theory that comes out of higher education, mostly out of the realm of law, that looks at the impact of inequity and racism on the law and how that has had an impact on opportunities for students throughout the years. We see that in the form of segregation and redlining and things like that has a direct impact on schools but that’s not part of our curriculum."

Renacci, 63, once owned the Columbus Destroyers Arena Football team and became a member of the U.S. Congress in 2010 as part of the Tea Party movement. He endorsed Donald Trump over then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the 2016 primary for president, according to a news release.

Renacci will face DeWine in the May 3 GOP gubernatorial primary with the winner on the ballot for the Nov. 8 general election.