Montanans can be forgiven for not being outraged at the fight brewing within the Montana Board of Education.

The difference between the use of the word “equality” and “equity” seems like a semantic parlor game.

And while the concepts are related, important and deeply rooted in our lexicon of what it means to be an American, they both represent concepts that have far-reaching ramifications when applied to the classroom.

At issue is the wording in the state’s teacher code of ethics. The word “equity” appeared there and apparently alarmed the Gianforte administration as well as Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen. They’ve instead proposed equality, which sounds similar and is not a bad idea.

While it may seem like the politicians are taking a microscopically small knife to split these slight hairs, there’s a much larger concept at play in public education.

The challenge is that the word equity has become a watchword for conservative politicians, worried that it’s code for “woke.”