10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

West Virginia jumps in on policy to post school race and sex topics

West Virginia is joining a growing list of states considering a “curriculum transparency” bill in response to societal dialogue about race and sex.

House Bill 4011 is called “The Anti-Stereotyping Act.” The House Education Committee discussed the bill, which was the only item on its agenda, Thursday afternoon.

Members of the committee cut short discussion after about an hour and a half and advanced the bill. A majority of committee members approved a motion by Delegate Caleb Hanna, R-Nicholas, to call for a vote. But the committee had not yet debated the overall bill or discussed amendments, so the motion shut all that down.

Joe Ellington

“There is no debate now; no further questions,” said House Education Chairman Joe Ellington, R-Mercer.

The House Judiciary Committee is also set to examine the bill.

Much of the earlier questions by delegates focused on the intent of the bill and how it would work in practice.

Todd Longanacre

“Does this bill protect my student from being alleged or taught by a public school teacher in West Virginia that he or she is a victim due to the color of their skin or that they may be privileged due to the color of their skin?” asked Delegate Todd Todd Longanacre, R-Greenbrier, during committee discussion.

The bill would require schools or school systems to publicly post any personnel training materials related to issues such as nondiscrimination, race or sex. Instructional materials about those topics would also have to be posted publicly. A revised version of the bill removed a requirement to post lesson plans.

Doug Smith

“Would this bill if passed in any way silence discussion on inequality and or truth of history?” asked Delegate Doug Smith, R-Mercer.

Another section of the bill would forbid schools from embracing stereotypes based on race, sex, ethnicity, religion or national origin. The bill specifies that individuals should not be blamed “for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or national origin.”

Danielle Walker

Delegate Danielle Walker, the only black woman in the House, asked a series of questions in committee about what the bill might cover. “Is it OK to discuss implicit bias?” asked Walker, D-Monongalia.

Cody Thompson

Delegate Cody Thompson, a teacher in the public schools system, asked who would make these calls.

“How is a teacher supposed to decide definitely what material is supposed to be placed on this website? And who decides? Is it the teacher, the principal or the county superintendent?” asked Thompson, D-Randolph.

One possible answer for that responsibility was school curriculum teams.

“What happens if we’re teaching about, during the Civil Rights era, and the materials have been uploaded and given to the board office and they’re available, would that include teacher lectures about the Civil Rights era? And if I didn’t include that, what would happen to me as a teacher?” he asked.

The response by the committee’s counsel was that teachers would not be held liable in such instances.

The bill states that it does not prohibit discussion or assignments that incorporate the concepts of race and sex for educational purposes.

Ric Griffith

But Delegate Ric Griffith, D-Wayne, asked about gray areas where lessons from history would lead to discussions of race or sex. “I’m just worried about a well-intended teacher or school getting caught up in this,” he said.

ACLU of West Virginia warned that the bill could have a chilling effect on classroom discussions. “This bill is designed to intimidate teachers from discussing diversity and equity,” the organization wrote. 

Fairness West Virginia, which lobbies for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, also contended the bill is designed to discourage teachers from engaging in conversations about racism and sexism. “This bill is extremely broad, and will have a chilling effect on free speech,” the organization wrote.

Legislatures in at least a dozen states have introduced similar bills. For example, Republicans in Michigan’s Legislature introduced a curriculum transparency bill on Wednesday. In Iowa, lawmakers this week began consideration of a bill that was part of the governor’s priorities.

The policies have spun out of the national discussion of critical race theory, which is an academic concept that racism may lie not only with individuals but also exists through lingering effects in legal systems and policies.

Debate over critical race theory gained momentum after the murder of George Floyd motivated millions of Americans to march and demonstrate for racial justice.

In reaction, attention to critical race theory heated up through attention by Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist and documentarian who used the term to also encompass a range of antiracist thought sometimes found in workplace diversity training.

Rufo has more recently turned attention to a shift from critical race theory and toward the curriculum transparency policies.

In a series of tweets earlier this year, Rufo wrote, “The Left will expect that, after passing so-called ‘CRT bans’ last year, we will overplay our hand. By moving to curriculum transparency, we will deflate that argument and bait the Left into opposing “transparency,” which will raise the question: what are they trying to hide?”

Late last month, in a piece for The Heritage Foundation, Rufo called on states to pass transparency bills. “Parents have appropriately been shocked to discover content advocating for racial discrimination in their children’s classroom,” he wrote. “They deserve transparency around what is taught in the schools they fund and that their children attend.”

Chris Pritt

In West Virginia, the bill’s lead sponsor testified before the House Education Committee and said it’s the job of the Legislature to anticipate and act on society’s problems. But Delegate Chris Pritt, R-Kanawha, could not cite any specific examples that the bill aims to address.

“I can’t give you the specifics on one particular issue.”





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