Having A Chilling Effect On How Educators Teach About Racism – Bans On Critical Race Theory
Nicholas Ensley Mitchell, University of Kansas
Perhaps no topic has dominated education news in 2021 like the debate over whether or not critical race theory should be taught – or whether it is even being taught – in America’s schools.
Critical race theory is an academic framework that holds that racism is embedded in American society and its institutions.
The debate about whether K-12 students should be exposed to this theory has prompted some Republican-controlled state legislatures to pass laws to make sure that never happens. As of early July 2021, six states have passed laws that seek to ban instruction on critical race theory in K-12 schools, although the laws rarely mention critical race theory by name.
The new laws in Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, New Hampshire and Tennessee al...