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Sioux Falls School District 49-5 board approves routine business; resident urges Orwell and removal of DEI from district policy
Summary
At a regular meeting, the Sioux Falls School District 49-5 board approved minutes, the agenda and consent items. During public comment, resident Chad Bishop urged the board to require George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm for juniors and seniors and called for removal of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from district policy.
Sioux Falls School District 49-5 board members approved routine business and heard a public comment urging curriculum changes at their July meeting.
Chad Bishop, a Sioux Falls resident, used his five-minute public comment to request that George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm be required reading for all juniors and seniors districtwide and to ask that the district “remove every trace of DEI from district policy.” He also asked the board to add lesson plans on propaganda techniques to the social studies curriculum. "I continue to respectfully request that George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm be required reading across the district for all juniors and seniors," Bishop said.
Bishop tied his curriculum request to broader concerns about propaganda and historical examples. He referenced the Cultural Revolution under Mao, described what he called campaigns of public denunciation, and compared those historical tactics to what he characterized as modern diversity, equity and inclusion training. Bishop also cited national political controversies and public figures to argue for critical-thinking instruction rather than what he termed "critical consciousness."
The board handled several routine actions by voice vote. A motion to approve the minutes of the board’s July 14 meeting carried after a voice vote. The board then approved the day’s agenda and a consent agenda (items listed through D) by voice vote as well. Each approval was moved and seconded; no individual roll-call tallies were stated on the record.
Superintendent-level staff and board members briefly acknowledged student artwork from the CLC program displayed at the meeting. Tara Beck, identified in the meeting as the CLC teacher, brought student art that was hung in the boardroom. No policy action or curricular changes were taken at the meeting; the curriculum suggestions were made during public comment, which does not by itself change district policy.
The meeting proceeded without reported conflicts of interest and concluded after a voice vote to adjourn. The board indicated its next meeting will take place in August.
