Republican committee members force vote on anti-critical race theory bill – The Daily Times

CHARLESTON Members of a House of Delegates committee approved a bill Thursday to provide more curriculum transparency and limit the teaching of anti-racism concepts commonly labeled as Critical Race Theory while also ending further discussion and amendments to the bill.

The House Education Committee recommended House Bill 4011 Thursday afternoon in a 18-5 roll call vote. The bill now heads to the House Judiciary Committee.

The committee heard nearly two hours of questions from its counsel, a representative for the Department of Education, and the bills lead sponsor, Delegate Chris Pritt, R-Kanawha. But Delegate Caleb Hanna, R-Nicholas, made a motion to call the previous question on the strike-and-insert amendment, which cuts off all debate, and move the bill.

Will this mean the bill will come out of the committee with no formal debate whatsoever, no opportunity for the minority to make its case in debate, asked Delegate John Doyle, D-Jefferson.

Through this process, have we eliminated any opportunity to offer amendments to the amendment, asked committee minority Vice Chairman Cody Thompson.

If you vote it down, then you have the chance to offer amendments, said committee Chairman Joe Ellington, R-Mercer.

HB 4011, also called the Anti-Stereotyping Act, would require schools to post all training materials and curriculum online pertaining to non-discrimination, diversity, equity, inclusion, race, ethnicity, sex, bias, or any combination of those concepts.

The bill would prohibit the promotion or endorsement by school employees and county school boards of stereotypes based on race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. The bill would not prohibit the discussion of how stereotypes have been used to discriminate or data that reveals disparities between categories of people based on race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or national origin.

In a section, labeled Preservation of Freedom of Speech, the bill would prohibit schools and county board of education officials from compelling students and staff to adopt any belief or concept that one race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior to another. It states that no person should be blamed for the action committed in the past by someone of the same race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or national origin.

The bill would prohibit public funds from being used to pay for anti-racism and racial equity consultants or require students and staff to attend any sessions with such consultants, though it does protect voluntary attendance.

According to the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank that offers model legislation similar to HB 4011, 25 states have introduced bills aimed at limiting the teaching of philosophies based in part on Critical Race Theory.

Opponents of CRT say it teaches racism is systemic in American systems of government and institutions with white people inherently benefiting from these systems at the expense of marginalized minorities, such as Black people or the LGBTQ community.

Under questioning, Pritt told committee members that he was unaware of any specific instance in West Virginia where philosophies based on CRT are being taught in West Virginia.

Just because we cant cite a specific instance doesnt mean its not happening, Pritt said. Our jobs as legislators is to be proactive, not to react to everythingI cant give you the specifics on one particular issue.

Instead of protecting free speech rights, opponents of these kinds of anti-CRT and anti-racism bills, such as the West Virginia chapter of the ACLU, believe this legislation hinders freedom of speech and stifles discussion of complicated topics, such as racial injustice, discrimination, civil rights, and slavery.

This bill is designed to intimidate teachers from discussing diversity and equity, the ACLU-WV posted on Twitter. We need to teach issues like race the same way we teach math and science: as accurately as possible.

Delegate Ric Griffith, D-Wayne, said he was concerned about the unintended consequences of the bill. He said the bill could limit discussion of historical topics in schools.

Where does history and opinion overlap, Griffith asked. I can see there would be some gray areasalmost all questions require an opinionespecially in history. Is it a possibility that this could stir a pot that could boil?

(Adams can be contacted at sadams@newsandsentinel.com)

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Republican committee members force vote on anti-critical race theory bill - The Daily Times