Global Courant 2023-05-04 22:13:13
Alabama lawmakers on Wednesday developed GOP-backed legislation to ban the teaching of so-called “divisive concepts” in classrooms and training sessions for state workers.
The bill prohibits schools, government agencies and universities from teaching students and employees a list of “divisive concepts,” including that “error, guilt or bias must be assigned to a race, color, religion, gender, ethnicity or national origin.” or that a student or employee should “consent with a sense of guilt, complicity, or the need to apologize” because of their race, sex, or national origin.
The Senate Committee on Government Affairs passed the bill by a vote of 7 to 3 that fell along racial and party lines. The bill now goes to the full Alabama Senate for debate. Similar legislation is pending in the Alabama House of Representatives.
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“It doesn’t stop teaching about slavery, bad history or that racism exists. It doesn’t stop teaching black history, or anything, history of any kind. What this bill does is it creates a new awakened stop ideology that divides people, both adults and children,” Republican Rep. Ed Oliver, the sponsor of the House version of the bill, told the committee.
The three black senators on the committee voted against the bill, questioning the need for the legislation and the potential chilling impact on class discussions.
An Alabama Senate committee has approved a measure banning the teaching of “divisive concepts” in the classroom. The bill would also ban “divisive concepts” in training sessions for state workers.
Senator Merika Coleman, chair of the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus, challenged supporters of the bill to provide examples of cases where a student is told something is their fault because of their race.
“What’s happening,” Coleman said, “is that school systems are afraid to discuss some topics because of the political climate in the state, and the bill would exacerbate that.”
“The language in this bill is purposely vague and confusing. Bills like this have already had a chilling effect on teaching with educators who are scared, anxious and unable to get clear answers about what they can or cannot teach, Stevie Rae Hicks, a teacher from Montgomery, said at a public hearing.
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Opponents noted that white Republicans vote to ban “divisive concepts” while previously passing a state law protecting Confederate monuments.
“She said why is it the same group of people who think we should preserve Confederate monuments — remember that the Confederates were traitors to this land — but the same group of people who want to preserve that history think it’s not important to learn about the ours,” said Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove.
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Republicans in several states have proposed restricting how race and gender are taught in classrooms and diversity training for state workers.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey last month removed her cabinet member who oversaw the state’s award-winning pre-kindergarten program over a teacher training book that contained language about inclusion and the importance of fighting prejudice.
“There’s a lot of mistrust around this bill because of the things that happened. The governor’s response to the lady on the book didn’t help,” said Senator Linda Coleman-Madison, a Democrat from Birmingham.
