A North Carolina lawmaker introduced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit lessons on the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) from being taught in the state’s K-12 public schools.
The “Equality in Education” bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. John Torbett, the chairman of the House Education Committee, would make it illegal for school districts to teach that “one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex.” Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed Torbett’s similar legislation in 2021; however, the bill is expected to have enough support to override governor action, according to ABC 13 News. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Parent Org Critiques Arizona Hotline Created To Report Teachers For CRT Lessons)
“This bill does not change what history standards can and cannot be taught,” Torbett told the Education Committee Tuesday, according to WRAL News. “It simply prohibits schools from endorsing discriminatory concepts.”
CRT holds that America is fundamentally racist and teaches people to view social interactions in terms of race. Its adherents pursue “antiracism” through the end of merit, objective truth and the adoption of race-based policies.
Under the legislation, lessons teaching that one’s moral character is determined by their skin color or that an individual, because of their race, “bears responsibility” for the actions of others in the same ethnic group, is prohibited. Teaching that one is “inherently racist” because of their “race or sex” would be prohibited under the bill.
The bill would also prohibit teaching that “the United States government should be violently overthrown” and that “all Americans are not created equal.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. surprises students for the Vera Bradley x Blessings In A Backpack Event at Shepherd Elementary on September 16, 2019 in Mooresville, North Carolina. (Photo by Jeff Hahne/Getty Images for Vera Bradley)
“Much of our history is race-related,” Democratic state Rep. Marcia Morey, who opposes the bill, told WRAL News. “And teaching and learning about lynchings and slavery and the effects of Jim Crow laws will make students uncomfortable, but a sound basic education is a full discussion of the facts of racism in American history.”
Across the country, lawmakers are moving to prohibit CRT lessons from K-12 classrooms; Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders signed an executive order on her first day of office outlawing such lessons and preventing “indoctrination.” Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s administration lowered the accreditation of two public schools who were found teaching CRT lessons.
“We should be focused on what brings us together over what tears us apart,” Torbett told WRAL News. “This bill says exactly that.”
Torbett and Morey did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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