Illinois state Sen. Darren Bailey recently reiterated his support for the Second Amendment, the right of the people to keep and bear arms. | Darren Bailey for Governor/Facebook
Illinois state Sen. Darren Bailey recently reiterated his support for the Second Amendment, the right of the people to keep and bear arms. | Darren Bailey for Governor/Facebook
GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey is decrying political messaging from teachers at Oak Park and River Forest High School.
“The new grading policies at Oak Park and River Forest High School are just the latest example of ‘woke’ ideology polluting our schools,” Bailey, a state senator from Xenia, said in a statement.
“Having a grade system is not racist. It is a measuring tool to understand how much a student has learned in a particular class. All of the students in a class are given the same assignments, the same tests, the same deadlines, and they are then measured by the same criteria for a grade. The efforts to undo these standards creates an imbalance and is on its face unfair. As Governor, I will put a ban on destructive, “woke” policies that create inequalities and unfairness in our classrooms. Any school district attempting to infect wokeness into the grading policies will be ineligible for state funding. Schools need to focus on education, not indoctrination. There will be no place for left-wing ideology in the classroom in a Darren Bailey Administration.”
Bailey’s statement comes as Oak Park and River Forest High School update curriculums to account for the difference in outcomes based on ethnicity and race.
According to a slide in the PowerPoint deck outlining its rationale and goals, the grading policy will too away with traditionally accepted grading standards.
“Traditional grading practices perpetuate inequities and intensify the opportunity gap,” the slide reads.
The school also announced it would focus on more instruction on "gender identity," racism, immigration and social justice issues.
Jesse Sullivan, McHenry County businessman Gary Rabine, Max Solomon, and former state senator Paul Schimpf all trail Bailey in the polls.
Irvin, who has been roundly chastised for his Democrat voting history and problems of political ethics, appears to be his only significant opponent in the race.
On June 28, there will be a primary election.
Bailey grew up on the Bailey Family Farm, which he and his sons currently own and operate and where they cultivate maize, wheat and soybeans.
Alerts Sign-up