Texas Senate Passes Bill That Bans Critical Race Theory From Classrooms
Darian Douraghy
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This past Saturday the Texas Senate passed legislation that would ban schools from requiring staff to teach Critical Race Theory.
According to KXAN, the bill, HB 3979, has previously passed the House but will require re-approval due to changes by the Senate.
The idea of critical race theory argues that racism is systemic and has been present in various institutions since the nation’s founding. These can include the criminal justice system, the law, schools, economics, etc.
“House Bill 3979 makes certain that critical race philosophies, including the 1619 founding myth, are removed from our school curriculums statewide. When parents send their children to school, they want their students to learn critical thinking without being indoctrinated with misinformation charging that America and our Constitution are rooted in racism,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) said about the passage of the bill.
“Texans roundly reject the ‘woke’ philosophies that espouse that one race or sex is better than another and that someone, by virtue of their race or sex, is innately racist, oppressive or sexist,” he added.
The bill requires the following when discussing various controversial political and social issues:
“Teachers who choose to discuss current events or widely debated and currently controversial issues of public policy or social affairs shall, to the best of their ability, strive to explore such issues from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective.”
Various critics of the Left have come out against the bill, including Democrats and education advocates.
“By telling teachers what and how to teach and ordering TEA to play police, HB 3979 may be one of the most disrespectful bills to teachers I’ve seen the #txlege dignify with debate,” Mark Wiggins, a lobbyist for The Association of Professional Educators, tweeted.
Similar bills have recently been popping up around the country, with the governor of Idaho signing a similar bill into law just this past month.
20 state attorneys general recently sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona stating their opposition to allowing critical race theory in the classroom.
“The proposed priorities are a thinly veiled attempt at bringing into our states’ classrooms the deeply flawed and controversial teachings of Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project,” the letter states.
The eventual passage of this bill is another great step in ending toxic racial theory that has permeated throughout the United States. Progress on the bill’s status can be tracked here.
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