A Pennsylvania school district has announced that it will defy any laws that prohibit CRT or the teaching of “concepts that say any race is superior to another.”
The Pittsburgh school district has said that bills such as the Republican-backed HB 1532 would hinder the ability of the school district to address the needs of all students.
HB 1532 is “aimed at curtailing the divisive nature of concepts more commonly known as ‘critical race theory.’
The bill prohibits any Pennsylvania school district, public postsecondary institution or state or local government entity from teaching that “any race or sex is superior to another, that any individual based on their race or sex is inherently racist or sexist, or that any individual should receive favorable treatment or be discriminated against based on their race or sex.”
Board members passed a resolution to defy “harmful legislation” such as HB 1532. The resolution said that such bills would threaten the ability of the school district of Pittsburgh to build a culture of belonging that embraces differences, reflects their local community, and allows all students and educators to be their authentic selves.
Board members claimed the bill would prevent them from teaching history accurately and would be harmful to students and families of color and LGBTQ individuals.
Board member Devon Taliaferro blasted “radical politicians” for trying to “censor curriculum” and said that children deserve leaders who stand up for their rights. “As the second largest district in the state of Pennsylvania, I hope that other districts follow in our footsteps if we are to pass this resolution,” she said.
CRT is a school of thought that focuses on how power structures and institutions impact racial minorities. Opponents of CRT say that according to this view, race is weaponized by dominant groups to oppress others.
Critics of the theory believe CRT causes more divisions between races because the theory categorizes all white people as being oppressors and Black people as hopelessly oppressed victims.
OpinionðŸ’by John M. Ellis#CriticalRaceTheory is so far from being consensus settled knowledge, so bitterly partisan, and so divisive, that several states are banning it from their schools.
CRT is a spiteful, ignorant theory. https://t.co/nsHdw4uzYD
— Epoch Times Opinion (@EpochOpinion) June 23, 2021
Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have already banned CRT and several other states are considering legislation to that effect.
