North Carolina Republicans sent a bill Wednesday to the state's Democratic governor that would limit how teachers can discuss certain racial concepts in the classroom.
The measure aims to prohibit teachers from compelling their students to personally adopt any of , but does little to nothing to prevent any of the more than 500 alleged cases of 鈥渋ndoctrination鈥� that were included in a that GOP Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson released earlier this month.
Even so, Republican leaders insist the bill will hold teachers accountable by shedding light on questionable classroom activities.
鈥淭his bill does not change what history can or cannot be taught. No spin or innuendo changes that. ... It simply prevents schools from endorsing discriminatory concepts,鈥� Rep. John Torbett, a Gaston County Republican, said during a floor debate.
Moore's chamber gave the measure final legislative approval by signing off on that increase the number of prohibited ideas, clarify that teachers can still discuss those concepts so long as they do not 鈥減romote鈥� them and require public school units to inform the Department of Public Instruction and post information on its website upon request a month before providing instruction on the 13 prohibited concepts.
The latest version of the plan passed the Republican-controlled House by a 61-41 vote.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has , accusing Republicans of 鈥渋njecting calculated, conspiracy-laden politics into public education.鈥� Cooper is likely to veto the bill, and Republicans would almost assuredly lack the Democratic votes they'd need to override the governor's decision.
Critics view the bill as part of a calculated political strategy Republicans are employing in more than two dozen states to boost voter enthusiasm heading into the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Democrats, education groups and racial justice organizations also see the GOP effort as a solution to a problem that does not exist in the state. The monthslong GOP effort to unearth cases of improper teachings appears to have yielded no clear examples of circumstances that House Bill 324 would prevent, as Republicans were unable at a committee hearing and news conference last week to point to a single case that would have violated the proposed law.
鈥淲ho is doing this? Where are you getting this info? It鈥檚 a boogeyman," said Rep. Abe Jones, D-Wake. "I鈥檇 like to see a film or picture of someone standing before a group of students in North Carolina in classrooms and teaching what鈥檚 in those 13 parts.鈥�
Still, Robinson鈥檚 task force report did highlight instances of educators accused of giving preferential treatment to pupils who agree with their racial views and teachers offering questionable class assignments, including a book called 鈥淕eorge鈥� about a transgender child coming to terms with gender identity and a handout that mentions former President Donald Trump in a sentence describing the term 鈥渪enophobia.鈥�
Some Republicans associate indoctrination with the promotion of any of 13 views the bill outlines, while other party leaders like the state鈥檚 lieutenant governor have a more expansive view of the term and believe the report unquestionably proves systemic failures within the state鈥檚 public education system.
Democrats expressed concern Wednesday that the measure could stifle free speech by making educators feel unsafe when describing America's history of racism and sexism, and ongoing inequities.
鈥淭his bill encourages us to look away from our history," said Rep. Brandon Lofton, D-Mecklenburg.
North Carolina鈥檚 proposal follows a national trend of Republican-controlled legislatures moving to thwart certain ideas they associate with a framework legal scholars developed in the 1970s and 1980s that centers on the view that racism is systemic in the nation鈥檚 institutions and serves to maintain the dominance of whites in society.
Eight Republican governors have signed bills or budgets into law banning the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 schools or limiting how teachers can discuss racism and sexism in the classroom. Similar bills have been introduced or other steps have been taken in 19 additional states, according to an .
Republicans across the country are using 鈥渃ritical race theory鈥� and 鈥渋ndoctrination鈥� as catchall phrases to describe racial concepts they find objectionable, including white privilege, systemic inequality and inherent bias.
The movement against the theory gained traction last year when Trump signed an executive order barring federal contractors from conducting racial sensitivity trainings after a conservative activist went on Fox News to urge the former president to do so. Several state lawmakers subsequently inserted language from Trump鈥檚 now-defunct executive order into their own bills.
