Federal Court Dismisses Equal Protection Claim Over Arkansas' Anti-Indoctrination Rule
A federal judge in Arkansas granted the state’s request to throw out a lawsuit by teachers and the Arkansas NAACP conference challenging the anti-indoctrination clause of the LEARNS act.
In Little Rock, a federal court dismissed the equal-protection lawsuit filed by teachers and the Arkansas NAACP conference against the state’s LEARNS act. The plaintiffs argued that removing AP designation from the African American Studies course was intended to prevent "left-wing indoctrination" and thus discriminated against Black students. The judge found that the desire to avoid political indoctrination does not constitute a discriminatory purpose under the Constitution.
While the court did not rule on the plaintiffs’ due-process and vagueness claims, it sent the case back for additional briefing on issues of standing and mootness. As a result, the anti-indoctrination provision remains effective, and the AP status of the course stays revoked. The ruling may shape future challenges to similar education-policy measures in the state.
Why it matters
The decision determines whether anti-indoctrination rules in education can be challenged as racial discrimination.
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