Idaho Could Become 1st State to Ban Critical Race Theory in Schools as Legislature Passes Bill
The Republican-controlled Idaho state Senate passed a bill on Monday that would ban public and charter schools and universities from including critical race theory in their curriculums.
The measure passed the Senate on a 27-8 vote after the state House approved it 57-12 last Thursday. It is now headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Brad Little.
House Bill 377, which concerns “Dignity and Nondiscrimination in Public Education,” says the “tenets of critical race theory … exacerbate and inflame divisions on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, national origin, or other criteria in ways contrary to the unity of the nation and the well-being of the state of Idaho and its citizens.”
The measure forbids teachers from forcing students “to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to ideologies that claim any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior.”
Nor are they allowed to promote the theory that “individuals, by virtue of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin, are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members” of the group.
Debate over the introduction of CRT in the state’s schools has been one of the “defining issues of the 2021 session,” according to Idaho Education News.
Republican state Sen. Carl Crabtree, who sponsored the bill, said it “does not intend to prohibit discussion in an open and free way. 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.”
State Sen. Jim Rice, also a Republican, noted the legislation 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 said.
The left is on a mission to force schools across America to adopt critical race theory. This dangerous ideology is working its way into every American institution, from our government to our system of justice and, most significantly, to many of our schools.
CRT promotes the idea that humans are fundamentally racist. Racism is everywhere, in everything.
According to the American Bar Association, “CRT recognizes that racism is codified in law, embedded in structures, and woven into public policy. CRT rejects claims of meritocracy or ‘colorblindness.’ CRT recognizes that it is the systemic nature of racism that bears primary responsibility for reproducing racial inequality.”
Opponents (rational people) view it as a form of indoctrination.
Given that Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress, we must look to state legislatures, the majority of which are Republican-controlled, to defend us against their unprecedented power grab.
Leftist Democrats view Republican state legislatures as obstacles in their way of pushing through their radical agenda — hence their urgency to pass HR 1, the “For the People Act,” which seeks to take power away from the states. The full-court press on Georgia lawmakers after they passed their voting reform bill comes to mind.
Little can expect to become a target if he signs HB 377.
GOP lawmakers in Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and West Virginia have proposed similar legislation, according to Education Week.
We must stand up for Republican state legislators and governors as they come under fire for opposing critical race theory. Until the GOP wins back control of either the House or the Senate in 2022, they are the only ones who can slow down the radicalization that is spreading throughout the country.
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