PragerU: Arizona's education department teams up with controversial conservative group
PHOENIX - The Arizona Department of Education is teaming up controversial conservative group PragerU.
"The problem we had is in some classrooms only the extreme left side has been presented, and so these present an alternative," said Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.
PragerU is non-profit that believes public schools are failing our children. They want to offer parents new lesson plans based on what they call ‘American values.’
The group was founded by right-wing talk show host Dennis Prager, and is gaining ground in Red states like Florida, Montana and Oklahoma, pushing back against what they consider a liberal agenda inside American schools.
"I feel that the public school systems is not doing what it’s supposed to be doing," said parent Cheryl Rosado. "I will not subject my children to that, and I don’t think that anyone should have to subject their children to that."
The program offers free online curriculum for kids, promoting patriotism, bashing progressive policies, and attacking school boards and bureaucrats.
After insisting their materials are objective, officials with the group admit to having an agenda.
"I stand for the American foundings, the American values, and the things that have made America the greatest country on god’s green earth, and I’ll be unapologetic about it. " said Marissa Streit with PregerU.
Some of PragerU’s educational videos have raised eyebrows for allegedly whitewashing history, like stories of abolitionist Frederick Douglas defending slavery, and explorer Christopher Columbus telling indigenous people that "being a slave is better than being killed."
"Some of the videos dismissed the horrors of slavery outright," said Beth Lewis with Save Our Schools. "There are videos that teach absolutely incorrect history, incorrect science, and I think that’s really dangerous to put in front of our children."
"I don't think we need to be looking at some alternative that teaches fake history," said Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs. "It's not a real issue that we're hearing from folks in our schools."
Prager’s education materials are not mandatory, but plan to be part of the state's education department portal - a new option for parents who see the world in a similar way.
"We are really going to be able to utilize this to make America great again," said Rosado.
We asked Horne which Arizona schools are teaching a left-leaning agenda. He mentioned Tucson, but not any schools in the Phoenix area.