Last Tuesday, shortly after being sworn into office as the first woman governor of Arkansas, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a series of executive orders designed to restore confidence in government and protect school children from far-left indoctrination.
In a press conference following her inauguration, Governor Sanders signed an executive order prohibiting critical race theory and indoctrination in public schools. The governor described CRT as “antithetical to the traditional American values of neutrality, equality, and fairness. She said emphasizing skin color as someone’s “primary characteristic” resurrects the “segregationist values” the nation fought to end.
The executive order instructs Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva to review rules, regulations, policies, materials, and communications to identify anything that may, purposely or otherwise, promote teaching that indoctrinates children into ideologies that conflict with equal protection under the law or encourage discrimination.
The governor also signed an executive order instituting an immediate hiring and promotion freeze for executive branch agencies. However, the governor’s order does not apply to positions authorized by federally funded public employment efforts or to positions from the Arkansas Department of Corrections or Department of Public Safety.
Sanders also signed an order directing Commerce Secretary Hugh McDonald to review and implement measures enhancing the integrity of the unemployment insurance program, reducing the rate of inappropriate payments to ineligible applicants, and reducing fraud. The governor signed an executive order aimed at reducing government rules and regulations and another order ordering the Arkansas Inspector General to conduct a review of all previous executive orders and submit a report to the governor’s office within 90 days.
Additionally, Sanders signed an order barring the use of TikTok on any state network or state-issued device, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. Finally, Governor Sanders signed an order directing all state offices, departments, and agencies to revise all existing written materials to remove the made-up word “Latinx” and replace it with Hispanic or Latino/Latina.
