Today, the state House voted 65-48 to prohibit North Carolina school districts from promoting discriminatory concepts like Critical Race Theory.
House Bill 324, “Ensuring Dignity & Nondiscrimination/Schools,” would prevent students or teachers from being taught that one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex, or that any individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.
“This bill is about upholding the equality and rights of all persons,” said primary bill sponsor and House Education Committee Chairman John Torbett (R-Gaston). “It does not change what history can and cannot be taught. It simply prevents schools from endorsing discriminatory concepts. At the end of the day, we should all be able to agree that no student or school employee should be made to feel inferior solely because of the color of their skin or their gender. North Carolina must have an education system that unites us – not divides us.”
A recent North State Journal report revealed that the Critical Race Theory and related concepts had been featured in professional development for Wake County Public Schools, although Wake County later pulled the course from being offered.
“North Carolina’s school children should be taught how to think – not what to think,” said North Carolina’s first Black Lieutenant Governor, Mark Robinson, in support of the legislation. “Radical leftists complain that this legislation is ‘white-washing history’ and ‘academic apartheid.’ Students should absolutely learn the horrific facts associated with slavery, Jim Crow, and other dark times in our nation’s history. They should not, however, be subjected to pseudo-science social justice initiatives like the ‘1619 Project’ and ‘Critical Race Theory,’ which seek to divide us along racial lines and teach that the systems of our Republic and the history of our great American experiment are shameful.
Lieutenant Governor Robinson added, “Our children, regardless of their background, should know that it is their shared and diverse experiences that make America great, and learning about those experiences should bring them together – not drive them apart. This legislation ensures that our students will be taught that we all have value, regardless of who we are – or who our ancestors were.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt also expressed her support for the legislation, stating, “This is a common-sense bill that provides reasonable expectations for the kind of civil discourse we want our children to experience in public schools. This “golden rule” approach ensures that all voices are valued in our school system.
Superintendent Truitt added, “We want to encourage students to think freely and respect differences of opinions, while ensuring our classrooms are not promoting ideas contrary to the equality and rights of all. Classrooms should be an environment where all points of view are honored. There is no room for divisive rhetoric that condones preferential treatment of any one group over another.”
The legislation, which now goes to the Senate for further consideration, would prohibit public school units from promoting the following concepts:
- One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex.
- An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.
- An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex.
- An individual’s moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or sex.
- An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.
- Any individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.
- The belief that the United States is a meritocracy is racist or sexist or was created by members of a particular race or sex to oppress members of another race or sex.
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