The Wisconsin Assembly passed a ban this week on Critical Race Theory (CRT) in classrooms in a partisan vote.
State Rep. Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna), the majority leader, told The Wisconsin Daily Star, “Over the past year, CRT and other backwards ideologies have crept into classrooms all across Wisconsin. Today, the State Assembly pushed back with a forward-focused agenda that will equip parents and the public with the tools they need to hold their school districts accountable.”
As reported by FOX 47, the bill that was passed in the State Assembly says “Wisconsin public schools would be prohibited from teaching students and training employees about concepts such as systemic racism and implicit bias.”
The Star Tribune reported the State Assembly also passed another similar bill that would “prohibit local governments and state agencies from training employees on such concepts, mirroring the Trump executive order that President Joe Biden lifted in January.”
The Wisconsin CRT bill would not allow teaching in classrooms that claims that one race or sex is better than another. It would also prohibit teachings that imply that a person is inherently racist or sexist based on his or her race or sex and that a person’s moral character isn’t determined by race or sex.
As reported by FOX 47, “It would also ban teaching that a person should feel guilty for past acts committed by people of his or her race or sex and that systems based on meritocracy are racist or sexist, or designed to oppress people of another race.”
Several education groups, which included the National Education Association and the National Council for the Social Studies, were concerned that the “proposals will have a chilling effect on teachers and classroom discussions, and lead to a sanitized version of the nation’s history being taught in schools.”
“Our children are the future of this state,” Steineke told The Daily Star. “It is our duty to ensure they receive a high-quality education so that they can be engaged, informed citizens someday.”
Another state representative, Tyler Vorpagel (R-Plymouth), agreed.
“For parents across the state, and as a parent myself, knowing what my child is learning in school and where school funding is being spent is a high priority,” said Vorpagel. “Today in the Assembly, we helped empower parents with that information,” he said.
State Representative Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) said, “If the opponents want an honest conversation about systemic racism, the curriculum would address the systemic racism of teacher’s unions, and their radical opposition to school choice. Racism keeps kids in failing schools, indoctrinates kids to resent others based on skin color, and fails to teach them reading, writing, and arithmetic.”
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun and The Wisconsin Daily Star | Star News Network. Follow Hayley on Twitter or like her Facebook page. Send news tips to [email protected].
