S.C. House Bill Would Curtail Teaching on Race in Schools

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A bill that would limit certain teachings on race in public schools and allow parents to challenge educational materials is moving through the Republican-controlled South Carolina House of Representatives.

The proposal is the latest iteration of a GOP-led nationwide effort to crack down on what some conservative politicians have dubbed “critical race theory." The South Carolina measure — cosponsored by several members of the Legislature's newly formed Freedom Caucus — would bar curricula from including or promoting certain concepts around race and other demographics.

Prohibited ideas include the notions that “an individual, by virtue of the race, sex, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin of the individual, inherently is privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously” and that a person “bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members” sharing their identity.

Similar measures have been proposed in other Republican-dominated statehouses. The language in the South Carolina bill mirrors sections of a law signed last year by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely 2024 presidential hopeful who has made “critical race theory” a frequent target. A federal judge in Florida has issued a temporary injunction preventing the law from taking effect in colleges after previously blocking its implementation in businesses. This week, DeSantis' administration rejected the College Board’s Advanced Placement African American Studies course.

Critical race theory is a way of thinking about America’s history through the lens of racism, which subscribing legal scholars say is systemic in the nation’s institutions. But it also has become a catchall phrase to describe concepts some conservatives find objectionable, such as white privilege, systemic inequality and inherent bias.