Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed a bill into law Tuesday that bans the teaching of the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT), including “assigning fault, blame, or bias to a race or sex, or to members of a race or sex because of their race or sex.”
CRT is a Marxist philosophy that embraces the concept that all social and cultural issues should be viewed through the lens of race.
“Critical Race Theory is about labels and stereotypes, not education,” Reynolds (pictured) said in a statement reported by the Des Moines Register. “It teaches kids that we should judge others based on race, gender or sexual identity, rather than the content of someone’s character. I am proud to have worked with the legislature to promote learning, not discriminatory indoctrination.”
Parents and some teachers, such as the one featured below in the tweeted video of a Loudoun County, Virginia school board meeting, are speaking out against CRT indoctrination in their schools:
Iowa House File 802, named “An Act Providing for Requirements Related to Racism or Sexism Trainings at, and Diversity and Inclusion Efforts by, Governmental Agencies and Entities, School Districts, and Public Post-Secondary Education Institutions,” states government employees shall not “teach, advocate, encourage, promote, or act upon stereotyping, scapegoating, or prejudice toward others on the basis of demographic group membership or identity.”
The new law prohibits “claiming that, consciously or unconsciously, and by virtue of persons’ race or sex, members of any race are inherently racist or are inherently inclined to oppress others.”
The title of “Critical Race Theory” is not specifically named in the legislation, but the measure targets its tenets, including that the United States or the state of Iowa is systemically racist.
The legislation also prohibits teaching that any individual should “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress” because of his or her race or sex.
The new law takes effect July 1.
According to the Register, the legislation’s opponents, which included Democrats, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Iowa-Nebraska chapter of the NAACP, said the measure will discourage teachers and government employees from discussing racism and sexism.
However, the new legislation does not ban teachers or trainers from answering questions about racism or sexism, and would not prohibit them from discussing them as part of a broader course of study.
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