A Pennsylvania state lawmaker has proposed legislation to ban public school teachers from discussing modern-day politics in the classroom.
Will Tallman, a Republican member of the state house, sent a memo to colleagues outlining a bill that would prohibit teachers from talking about “any controversial subject matter that is not germane to the topic of the course being taught.” They would also not be able to “advocate for any issue that is part of a political party platform at the national, state, or local Level,” the Morning Call reported Thursday.
Teachers would be barred from endorsing or opposing political candidates and discussing pending or enacted legislation, court cases, or executive orders at any level of government. Additionally, educators could not discuss any activities “that hamper or impede” law enforcement or military recruiters on school grounds.
Violation of this policy would result in suspension or revocation of state teachers licenses.
Tallman, who will not be seeking re-election in the November, told the Morning Call that he has received “half a dozen to a dozen” complaints about teachers inserting political discussion into the classroom.
“Our K-12 school teachers should not be using their classroom time spent on political or ideological indoctrination,” Tallman said in the memo. “Doing so takes time away from instruction in the academic foundation subjects of mathematics, science, English, history, and civics, and prevents our students from receiving a high-quality public education for careers in the global, high-tech economy.”
Legal experts told the Morning Call that the bill is unlikely to become law because it runs afoul of the free speech rights of teachers.
