In his previous role as Connecticut schools commissioner, US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wanted to ensure his team was “involved” and made sure teachers supported the new “woke” curriculum, according to a report.

In an email sent Nov. 1, 2019, obtained by Fox News through a Freedom of Information Act request, Cardona said he agreed with his then-chief of staff, Laura Stefon, that “We need to be involved” in the group creating a critical race theory curriculum.

“I want the new Teacher of the Year [2020] Meghan Hatch Geary on it also, for several reasons,” the then-commissioner wrote.

Hatch Geary, he wrote, “studied Black and Latino studies for her Master’s Program… Has created programming incorporating social justice, for race and gender inequalities… Her application included more references to the importance of Black leaders in History than anything I have read before… She volunteered teaching in Ghana and Ecuador… Understands curriculum reduces invisibility for students of color and creates global preparedness for all students.”

“We need teachers behind this wave of our curriculum becoming more ‘woke,'” he continued.

“Sends the right message that we are asking the ToY to help us do better,” the email concluded.

Critical race theory dictates that race is an underlying dynamic of all human interaction and views the human experience as a constant power struggle between the races, often with a focus on “white privilege.”

Cardona oversaw the creation of the soon-to-be-mandated critical race theory courses referenced in the email.

Along with Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, Cardona steered Connecticut to become the first state in the nation to require all high schools to offer courses on African American, black, Puerto Rican and Latino studies.

The requirement was implemented by the state board of education in December of last year.

Listed under the courses’ learning objectives, the curriculum states the goal is to “Analyze how race, power, and privilege influence group access to citizenship, civil rights, and economic power.”

Cardona celebrated the courses being approved by the board, saying in a statement at the time, “This curriculum acknowledges that by connecting the story of people of color in the U.S. to the larger story of American history. The fact is that more inclusive, culturally relevant content in classrooms leads to greater student engagement and better outcomes for all,” according to WTNH News.

Schools may begin offering the courses in the 2021-2022 academic year, but every school will be required to offer them by fall 2022.

Cardona has spent his career in public schools and would be expected to fulfill President Biden’s sweeping education reforms, including making public college tuition-free for families that earn less than $125,000 annually.

Just last week it emerged that a new rule proposed by Cardona’s US Education Department says financial grants could encourage schools to “incorporate teaching and learning practices that reflect the diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students.”

The plan posted on the National Archive’s Federal Register website cites as examples the New York Times Magazine’s controversial “1619 Project” and the work of Ibram X. Kendi, author of the best-selling book “How to Be an Antiracist.”

It also says that “racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically responsive teaching and learning practices contribute to what has been called an ‘identity-safe’ learning environment” where “teachers strive to assure students that their social identities are an asset rather than a barrier to success.”