Nonprofit employee placed on leave after ‘far right’ group  suggests he snuck in CRT into Georgia schools

Quintin Bostic, an employee of a non-profit organization for teachers, was placed on administrative leave this week following accusations from a notorious far-right group, known for its “sting” operations. 

Project Veritas published a video and accompanying story earlier this week where Bostic appears to say that he sold curriculum to the two school districts (Cobb and Fulton County) that contain critical race theory, without the districts knowing the contents.

Bostic is employed by Teaching Lab, a Washington, D.C. based nonprofit organization that provides professional learning to educators in Georgia. Both Cobb County and Fulton County schools have denied the allegations from the far-right group. In identical statements released by Cobb and Fulton, they say they have “no record of purchasing any service or product” from the organization or Bostic.

In a statement, both school districts said: “We remain focused on teaching all (Cobb and Fulton) students the state-approved curriculum. CRT is prohibited by the state and is not part of (the districts’) approved curriculum.”

Teaching Lab said in a statement that critical race theory is not a part of its professional learning model, and it does not operate or distribute its materials in Georgia. They say that the video was “deceptively produced and edited”. 

In a statement the organization said, “The views expressed by the employee in these recordings are not the views of Teaching Lab, and are inaccurate and regrettable.” They went on to say “Well known for its sting operations, Project Veritas people mask their real identities to infiltrate political or media organizations where they then record and publish private communications with unsuspecting members of these groups.”

In 2022, Project Veritas was found liable by a federal jury for violating wiretapping laws and misrepresenting itself in an undercover effort to target Democratic political consultants.

Emphasizing that attempts to “promote or push these ideologies in Georgia schools are illegal”, the Georgia Department of Education said in a statement, “We are in communication with both school districts explicitly mentioned to verify whether the information in the video is accurate, and are working to ensure these materials have not been adopted in other districts. We will direct any district using these materials to discontinue their use.”

What is CRT (Critical Race Theory)?

Critical race theory is an academic concept based on the idea that the country’s history of slavery and segregation has affected many parts of American society. It cites laws and economic practices adopted to limit African-Americans’ economic and educational opportunities and citizenship and argues that racial discrimination is built into many institutions. CRT was banned by conservative lawmakers in Georgia. They also established a complaint process for parents who were concerned about any potential violations of the law.

Although CRT is banned from being taught to children in K-12, many colleges and universities, particularly at the graduate level, use CRT principles in their coursework.