Idaho’s Republican-controlled Senate passed a bill that would ban critical race theory lessons in all public schools.
“It is a preventative measure. It does not indicate that we have a rampant problem in Idaho. But we don’t want to get one,” Republican state Sen. Carl Crabtree, who co-sponsored the bill, said.
Idaho could become the first state to ban the curriculum after lawmakers voted 28-7 on Monday. The bill will now head to Republican Gov. Brad Little’s desk as the state House has also approved it.
Teaching critical race theory, which argues that the United States is a fundamentally racist country and citizens can be inherently racist based on their skin color, has spread in schools around the country in recent months.
THE WORST EXAMPLES OF CRITICAL RACE THEORY IN SCHOOLS
Republican state Sen. Jim Rice said the bill stands for the “same principles that have been the foundation of the civil rights movement.”
“It’s that every individual should be treated equally under the law, that no one should be compelled to believe something just because someone else does,” he insisted while supporting the bill.
“The longer we wait, the more our kids are indoctrinated with this garbage,” state Rep. Heather Scott added last week.
Democratic opponents to the bill, however, argue that banning the lessons would preclude students “from learning about objective historical truths.”
"The bill is looking for a problem that doesn’t exist in Idaho’s public education system, where students are not learning lies about American history," Democratic state Sen. Ali Rabe said. "The bill could stifle free speech in the classroom on topics related to race and sex. Students are at risk of being precluded from learning about objective historical truths."
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Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Missouri have proposed similar bans.
Former President Donald Trump had banned the federal government and its contractors from teaching critical race theory, but President Joe Biden reversed his predecessor’s executive order when he took office.
