The fight over critical race theory lands in Harrisburg; House GOP bill would punish districts that teach it | Thursday Morning Coffee – Pennsylvania…

Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

The nationwide fight over the teaching of critical race theory, has landed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, throwing another log on a culture war fire thats already seen the Republican-controlled chamberadvance bills limiting abortion rights andexpanding gun rights, even as some lawmakers seek toban transgender youth athletes from participating in sportsthat correspond with their gender.

Reps. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon, andBarbara Gleim, R-Cumberland(the prime sponsor of that transgender athlete bill),began seeking co-sponsors for their proposalto [curtail] the divisive nature of concepts more commonly known as critical race theory,' onMay 21, arguing that teaching our children that they are inferior or inherently bad based on immutable characteristics such as race and sex can be extremely damaging to their emotional and mental well-being.

Only a niche term a year ago, the fight over critical race theory, which scholars view as an overdue attempt to educate public school students on how racial disparities are embedded in U.S history and society, has become the latestbete noireof the right,with conservatives arguing that teachers are trying to inject race into what should be a colorblind system,the Washington Post reported on May 3.

DiamondsandGleimsDear Colleague memo echoes that contention, arguing that our schools should be teaching that every individual is equal under the law and that no individual should ever be labeled superior or inferior simply due to their race or genetic makeup, nor be held responsible for actions taken by others with similar traits.

Such teachings, the lawmakers contended interfere with our constitutional duty to support and maintain a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.

Writing in the Washington Post on Wednesday, one expert said such bills are not only chilling, they also are unconstitutional at the college level, where debates over critical race theory traditionally and predominantly take place.

These laws are both misguided and unconstitutional; they constitute bad educational policy, and in the higher education context, they violate the First Amendment,Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.,a professor at theUniversity of Alabama School of Law, wrote. At a time when we desperately need to have more frank and open conversations about race, class, social justice and the concept of the other,they hamstring educators charged with preparing young people to live and work in an increasingly diverse society.

But, as applied to public K-12 schools, these laws might survive judicial review, because states enjoy broad constitutional authority over the curriculum,Krotoszynskiadded.

As ourNational Correspondent Dan Vockrecently reported, such efforts have proliferated nationwide as GOP lawmakers have succeeded in pushing it to the top ofstate legislative agendas.Governors in Idaho and Oklahoma have already signed measures to forbid the teaching of critical race theory in schools this year. Arkansas Republican governor let a similar measure become law without his signature, while proposals in Iowa and Tennessee are waiting for their governors approval,Vockreported for our sibling site,North Carolina Policy Watch.

Lawmakers inNorth Carolina,Arizona, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and other states have waded into the debate, as well, although some of those efforts have failed.

A group of Republican attorneys general from 20 states this week sent theBiden administrationa10-page letterchastising federal officials for using two grant programs as a thinly veiled attempt at bringing into our states classrooms the deeply flawed and controversial teachings of Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project.

And asVockreports,conservative groups such as theHeritage Foundationand theAmerican Legislative Exchange Council, which provides right-winglawmakers with whats known as model legislation that they can use in their own states,also have stepped up pressure on conservative state lawmakers to rein in the teaching of critical race theory.

Particularly at the state level, the focus has primarily been on schools. Pending legislation in North Carolina, for instance, would prohibit teachers from promoting concepts that suggest America is racist or that people are inherently racist or sexist.

It would also prohibit teaching that whites or anyone else is responsible for the sins of their forefathers. In Tennessee, for example,a bill passedby the legislature would prohibit local school districts or charter schools from teaching or including materials that promote or include 14 different concepts.If schools dont comply, they could lose state funding. The exact amount would be up to the states education commissioner,Vockreported.

A draft version of Diamonds and Gleims bill, which is attached to their co-sponsorship memo,contains a similar provision, ordering the loss of funds not only for the current fiscal year, but for the next one as well for districts that run afoul of their proposal.

Lawrence Paska, the executive director of theNational Council for the Social Studies, a group that represents social studies teachers, toldVockthat heworries about the amount of control lawmakers are trying to exert over teachers classrooms.

This goes against what we know good instructional practice to be, he toldVock. Were a little baffled at the idea that were going to legislate away certain types of freedoms and responsibilities that teachers have.

Were concerned with this notion of limiting discussion about things like racism, sexism and discrimination, that we cant talk about those things. Thats both against what we do in social education but more importantly, its against the very definition of First Amendment freedoms and academic freedom for both teachers and students,Paskaadded.

Paskasaid the goal of teaching the faults of the country is to help make students better citizens, not to shame them.

I dont know an educator who thinks, My job at the end of the day is to shame a student, is to shame a child, into feeling anything less than their full potential, he toldVock.

That the bills are coming at a time of heightened awareness of racial and class disparities laid bare by the pandemic is hardly coincidental.

And one Black lawmaker says he believes its a dereliction of duty for the Legislature to waste time and the taxpayers money on distractions at a time when so many are in need.

Critical Race Theory is not taught in k-12 schools. Its an analytical approach to understanding inequality and how the law might address persistent inequalities,Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Philadelphia, told theCapital-Star.

It is taught in some law schools and graduate schools of education. All across the country peddlers of racial division are spreading misinformation to justify creating a solution for a problem that doesnt exist,Rabbcontinued. What does exist is structural inequality and deep racial disparities. Analyzing their root causes is not controversial. Continuing to deny racial justice, however, is nothing less than cowardly and reckless.

Our Stuff.A proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed childhood survivors of sexual abuse to file expanded claims in civil courtwas held up due systemic failures at Dept. of State, a report by the stateOffice of Inspector Generalconcludes.Stephen CarusoandMarley Parishhave the details.

Potentially upsetting decades of precedent that has aided rural, white Pennsylvanians at the expense of Black, urban residents,House Minority Leader Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, hascalled for state legislators to change how they count prisoners during redistricting, Stephen Carusoalso reports.

Honoring calls for transparency, a state Senate committeeheld its first public hearing on the decennial redrawingof Pennsylvanias congressional map,Marley Parishalso reports.

Heading for a national park this summer?Youll be headed into the busiest season in history,U.S. Park Serviceofficials told a U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday,National Correspondent Jacob Fischlerreports.

Members ofPhiladelphia City Councilaredemanding more transparency from Mayor Jim Kenneys administrationover errors in the citys payroll system, our partners at thePhiladelphia Tribunereport.

On our Commentary Page this morning, aUSC-Dornsifeexpert sayssending science majors into elementary schoolshelps Latino and Black students realize scientists can look like them. And frequent contributorJonathan C. Rothermel, ofMansfield University, suggests a common sense bit of election reform:Moving Election Day to the weekendso that more people can participate.

Elsewhere.ThePhiladelphia Housing Authorityhas received an unprecedented $10 million in federal vouchers specifically tohelp people experiencing homelessnessin the city, theInquirerreports.More than 70 percent of Pennsylvania adultshave received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, theTribune-Reviewreports.A new state lawupdates the requirementsfor a CDL license,PennLivereports.LancasterOnlinecaught up withGov. Tom Wolf, who traveled to Lancaster County on Wednesdayto push a minimum wage increase.The statehas dropped its lawsuit against restaurantsaccused of defying pandemic shutdown orders including four in the Lehigh Valley, theMorning Callreports.NEPA Demspushed the Biden administrations American Families Planduring an event on Wednesday, theCitizens Voicereports.

Heres your #Pennsylvania Instagram of the Day.

WHYY-FMs Layla A. Jonesreflects on how reporting while Blackduring a summer of uprisings changed her and her colleagues.WITF-FMlooks at the debate over theWolf administrationsplan to use a horse racing subsidy to fund higher education.The 2022 Pa. governors race is a toss-up, according to theCook Political Report(viaPoliticsPA).Stateline.orgexplains how the pandemic hashighlighted the dangers of nursing home understaffing.Conservatives are now complaining about wait for itleft-wing extremism in the U.S. military,Talking Points Memoreports.

What Goes On.The House and Senate are off today. But heres a look at the days committee action.10:30 a.m.,Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Pittsburgh:Senate Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee11 a.m., 515 Irvis North:House Labor & Industry Committee, Subcomittee on Workers Compensation and Worker Protection1:45 p.m., 515 Irvis North: House Labor & Industry Committee (continued from above)

WolfWatch.Gov. Tom Wolfheads to Montgomery County for a 2 p.m. event withAttorney General Josh Shapiroand members of the LegislaturesWomens Health Caucus, where theyll discuss a series of crashingly awful anti-abortion rights bills that were reported out of theHouse Health Committeeearlier this week.

You Say Its Your Birthday Dept.Best wishes go out this morning toWRVV-FMHarrisburg radio hostGlenn Hamilton, who completes another trip around the sun today. Congratulations, sir. Enjoy the day.

Heavy Rotation.Heres some more new music fromLiz Phair.From her upcoming LPSober-ish, itsIn There.

Thursdays Gratuitous Hockey Link.The New York Islanderseliminated the Pittsburgh Penguinson Wednesday night, winning 5-3 in Game 6 of their first round playoff series.

And now youre up to date.

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The fight over critical race theory lands in Harrisburg; House GOP bill would punish districts that teach it | Thursday Morning Coffee - Pennsylvania...