Republican state legislators have introduced 12 bills to ban critical race theory in K-12 schools since Nov. 8, bringing the total number to 66 in 26 states, according to a free speech advocacy group that tracks them.
The New York-based nonprofit PEN America reported in an online index last week that the most recent slate of bills, which it calls “educational gag orders,” includes seven in Missouri and one each in New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
“Such efforts to ban and prohibit specific historical facts and interpretations are a clear threat to the spirit of debate and inquiry which should animate our schools and universities,” said Jonathan Friedman, PEN America’s director of free expression and education.
The report did not include Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, announced a proposal Wednesday to let parents sue school districts for teaching critical race theory.
PEN America said six of the bills specifically use the phrase “critical race theory,” making a total of 20 state-level measures introduced this year with such explicit prohibitions.
The other six contain explicit prohibitions against teaching or using curricular materials from “The 1619 Project” — a Pulitzer Prize-winning series that New York Times journalists introduced in August 2019 “to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States’ national narrative.”
Legislators have introduced 17 bills referring to “The 1619 Project” this year, according to PEN America.
Republicans have full control of the legislative branches in 30 states. Only seven of those states had not introduced legislation against critical race theory as of PEN America’s report last week: Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana and Georgia.
Republicans control the legislatures in most but not all of the 26 states where legislation against critical race theory has been introduced: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Developed in graduate and law schools in the 1970s, critical race theory is an analytical tool based on Marxist critical studies. It posits that racism is a foundational element of American society and government and is important in understanding and evaluating U.S. laws, policies and programs.
Some parents’ rights advocates have welcomed the legislation. They say the proposals would help families protect their children from political indoctrination in the classroom.
Tamra Farah, executive director of MomForce at the nonprofit Moms for America, called the series of bills a sensible reaction to the ideological partisanship of many schools.
SEE ALSO: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposes ban on critical race theory in K-12 schools
“Absent national or unpoliticized state curriculum standards for social studies, it’s perfectly acceptable to silence teachers from passing off a questionable theory, such as critical race theory, as if it is established fact,” Ms. Farah said. “In short, critical race theory teaches even young children that they are either an oppressor or they are the oppressed, based on their skin color.”
Sheri Few, president of U.S. Parents Involved in Education, welcomed the bills as antidotes to “woke ideology” in public schools.
“Parents and freedom-loving Americans are outraged at the liberal philosophies being espoused to children through government schools funded with their hard-earned tax dollars and will not tolerate it any longer,” Ms. Few said.
Actress and parental rights advocate Sam Sorbo said the legislation aims to protect the right of parents to decide what their children learn.
“These bills represent parents challenging the statists who want to indoctrinate the children with lies about their race, rather than teach them the truth that all men are created equal,” said Miss Sorbo, noting that teachers do not have a right to present their personal opinions as facts.
‘Advancing with incredible speed’
Analysts see the recent proposals as previews of next year’s legislative sessions across the country. Of the 66 bills, 20 are pending in current legislative sessions and 14 have been filed for 2022.
Eleven of the bills have passed into law in Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, signed Arizona’s bill on June 30, but the state Supreme Court subsequently struck down the law. North Carolina’s legislature also passed a bill, but Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, vetoed it on Sept. 10.
Four of the remaining bills were withdrawn and 15 died in session, according to PEN America’s data.
Jeffrey Sachs, a professor in the Department of Politics and Department of History and Classics at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, said the 12 new bills “are far more sweeping and ambitious” than the ones Republicans introduced earlier this year.
“They would apply to more people and institutions, regulate a wider array of speech and carry stiffer penalties,” Mr. Sachs said. “In some cases, they are also advancing with incredible speed. North Dakota’s CRT ban, which prohibits K-12 schools from including any instruction on systemic racism in America, became law just five days after it was introduced.”
Some historians have complained about the vague language of the bills, which seem to restrict social studies teachers from giving any context for their lessons.
“It is not possible to heal divisions without understanding how they evolved and were nourished,” said James Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association.
Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of the history of education at the University of Pennsylvania, said Republican lawmakers concerned about “cancel culture” may come to regret the precedent that the bills set for government intervention into schools.
“All of them will chill or even eliminate discussion of vital questions, especially around race,” Mr. Zimmerman said. “They reflect a lack of trust in our teachers, our students and ultimately in ourselves.”
PEN America reported on Nov. 8 that 24 state legislatures had introduced 54 bills from January through September to ban “divisive” concepts such as critical race theory from being taught in K-12 schools, higher education and state agencies.
Most of those 54 bills called for limits on discussions of race, racism, gender and American history, according to the report, titled “Educational Gag Orders: Legislative Restrictions on the Freedom to Read, Learn, and Teach.”
Jeffrey C. Sun, a professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville, said the bills reflect a national breakdown in racial dialogue.
“We cannot continue letting policymakers stifle education and our children’s capacities to think critically and independently,” Mr. Sun said.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.