A North Carolina bill that would limit classroom discussions on racism and sexism passed third reading in the House on Wednesday and is now in the Senate for consideration.
Republican Rep. John Torbett introduced House Bill 187, entitled “Equality in Education,” last month.
It would prohibit public schools from promoting ideas about racism and sexism that might make some students feel “discomfort” or “guilt” about their identity.
Torbett explained why he introduced the bill during a House session on Wednesday.
“It prevents discriminatory concepts from being taught as fact, or endorsed in North Carolina school districts,” he said. “This includes being taught that one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex, or other related concepts that reduce individuals to simply their gender or skin color.”
Torbett said he was concerned about indoctrination. But several representatives noted that the bill might keep teachers from discussing important aspects of history.
Mecklenburg Rep. Kelly Alexander listed off several historical events that he said might make students uncomfortable.
“I just jotted down some concepts here, some things that normally come up, that might cause somebody to momentarily feel a little bad or question what their antecedents might have done,” Alexander said. “One is a frank discussion of the conditions of slavery, where you find out that bones were broken.”
The bill would also require schools to notify the Department of Public Instruction 30 days before teaching about certain topics related to race and sex, which are found in subsection (c) of the document. The same goes for any potential speakers visiting the school, who might have posted about those subjects on social media in the last three years.
When asked about who would conduct the investigations of those speakers, Torbett said there were “no specifics dealing with how a school would make those determinations.”
The House passed the bill with a vote of 68-49.
Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.