Kansas House Republicans stirred an academic hornet’s nest Tuesday with a bill imposing a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as critical race theory in most classes counted toward degree requirements at the state’s public universities.
A state law requires Kansas agencies and universities to eliminate any policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Republican lawmakers are questioning whether they should also regulate the content in college courses.
Rep. Valdenia Winn offered a proposal to House Republicans: If they were to override the governor’s veto of legislation installing a parental bill of rights, she would recruit parents to file lawsuits over the lack of honest history lessons in public schools.
Every moment that it seems as if we’re on the cusp of change, we double down on our ugliness, Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. told a crowd at the Kansas Union Friday afternoon.
“Educational bills of rights for parents” under consideration in Kansas House and Senate committees were supported by seven people and faced opposition from more than 100 people who submitted testimony.
Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service
In the battle over critical race theory and how to teach about topics like racism or history in Kansas schools, conservative activists and lawmakers have a new clarion call: curriculum transparency.
Lawmakers in the Kansas House began laying the groundwork last week for redirecting taxpayer money from public to private schools by holding a two-hour hearing on complaints two parents have with diversity and inclusion initiatives.
“So much of the ever-changing debate about critical race theory — a term for an academic body of work not taught in K-12 public schools — centers the feelings of white students. We rarely seem concerned about how Black students have felt in public schools,” Mark McCormick writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
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Vocal opponents of critical race theory aim to perpetuate the myth of meritocracy and the single story of American exceptionalism, author Clint Smith told the crowd at Liberty Hall Monday night.
A state education official told lawmakers Wednesday they need to “stop calling everything under the sun” critical race theory if they want to work together to improve student achievement.
