Ducey signs bill banning critical race theory in schools
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Arizona schools are now banned from teaching controversial topics that some say inappropriately pits races against each other.
Gov. Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2906 on July 9, which prohibits using public funds to teach critical race theory in public schools and other government institutions.
Specifically, it bans the state and any local governments from requiring their employees to engage in “training, orientation or therapy,” which places “any form of blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex.’’
CRT contends that “the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans,” according to Britannica.
The bill made its way out of the Legislature on a party-line vote.
“When I took office, I vowed to use taxpayer dollars responsibly, and funding training on political commentary is not responsible spending,” Ducey said in a press release. “I am not going to waste public dollars on lessons that imply the superiority of any race and hinder free speech.”
He said that Arizona leads the nation on “civics education” and will not teach “divisive and regressive lessons,” rather educating students on American history.
The bill builds on HB 2989, signed by the governor on July 2, which established a fine of up to $5,000 for schools teaching students that one race, ethnic group or sex is superior to another or that anyone should be discriminated against on the basis of these characteristics.
Many opponents of critical race theory say its supporters focus on disproportionate outcomes from those individual stories, incorrectly drawing conclusions about institutional racism and white privilege and failing to consider strides that the nation has made toward racial equality.
Bill co-sponsor Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Phoenix, said HB 2906 demonstrates that “Arizona stands with Martin Luther King Jr.’s proclamation that people should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.”
This article was originally posted on Ducey signs bill banning critical race theory in schools
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