A divided Alabama state school board has cemented rules that ban the teaching of so-called critical race theory in K-12 classrooms. The board voted 7-2 to put the previously approved resolution in the state administrative code. The decision drew sharp criticism from opponents who said the language will limit honest conversations and lessons about history and race. The rule bans teaching concepts that assign fault, blame, a tendency to oppress others, or the need to feel guilt or anguish to persons solely because of their race or sex. The Reverend Rayford Mack of Montgomery called the resolution “anti-truth.”
“It is a dangerous step backwards that has emerged from a coordinated national effort to suppress our nation’s history and to deny the experience of Black people and other people of color,” Mack told the AP.
State education officials say critical race theory isn’t currently taught in Alabama schools and that the school board action is preventative to keep the issue from coming up in the future.
