ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers are debating a bill that would ban critical race theory (CRT) from all Georgia schools.
The bill’s author insists it wouldn’t prevent the teaching of history, including the history of slavery and racism in Georgia.
Democrats questioned the need for the bill at all since CRT isn’t taught in public schools anyway.
“I think I think it’s a message of fear,” Cobb County mother Laura Judge said.
Now it could inspire new laws that could affect what children learn in public schools.
Republican state Sen. Bo Hatchett defended his bill in front of Democrats on Monday.
SB 377 looks to ban “divisive concepts” like CRT in Georgia public schools.
“I think the divisive concept that we’re trying to prevent is for a teacher to look at a student and say, because of the color of your skin, you should feel discomfort, you should feel guilt, you should feel anguish,” Hatchett said.
Another bill – HB 888 – would cut a school’s funding if a teacher taught that “the United States is a systemically racist country.”
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“One parent complaint, one complaint by someone else could once again take 10% of that funding. It is very concerning,” said Lisa Morgan with the Georgia Association of Educators.
CRT is not currently part of Georgia’s public school curriculum. Some consider it a way of looking at how racism affects society.
Hatchett called his bill proactive when asked by Democrats to list examples of CRT in Georgia schools.
“Sometimes you can have proactive instead of reactive legislation,” Hatchett said.
But how to define CRT isn’t universally agreed upon.
That’s what Kennesaw State professor Jillian Ford said has led to some confusion.
“Because they don’t actually know what critical race theory is, or does, it has become a general catchall term for what they call wokeness,” Ford said.
The two Georgia bills are part of a nationwide push to address CRT in schools.
Judge said she trusts teachers to know what’s appropriate in classrooms.
“Our teachers are amazing. I feel as if it’s questioning them and hurting them,” Judge said.
Currently, there is no word when the two bills will get another hearing.
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