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The movement to discuss how teachers discuss race, gender, and other such potentially controversial topics in schools has slowed—and changed—since Republican state lawmakers began proposing those bills in 2021.
Even so, other challenges to materials and lessons—from local book challenges to state measures aimed at diversity, equity, and inclusion programs—continue to mount. And most laws enacted over the last few years that target teaching of “divisive concepts” or “critical race theory” remain on the books.
The trend has proved to be an ongoing minefield for teachers and school districts, some of whom have already faced challenges to lessons and professional development courses in states where these laws have passed.
State lawmakers initially drew inspiration from a September 2020 executive order, signed by then-President Donald Trump, which banned certain types of diversity training in federal agencies after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. (President Joe Biden has since revoked this order.)
Bills aimed at K-12 schools in the 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions targeted anti-bias training and other efforts educators were making to diversify curricula and materials, arguing that schools placed too much emphasis on the most difficult chapters of American history and were intentionally causing white children to feel guilty about their race.
They labeled these kinds of activities critical race theory, a reference to a decades-old academic idea that has been appropriated by its opponents to refer to anything that makes race or gender salient in conversations about history, current events, or literature.
More recently, though, this trend has slowed. So far, no state that had not already considered a divisive concepts bill saw one introduced in 2024. See the table below for more information on some of the measures and variations from state to state.
Related
- What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?
- Efforts to Root Out Racism in Schools Would Unravel Under ‘Critical Race Theory’ Bills
- Critical Race Theory Puts Educators at Center of a Frustrating Cultural Fight Once Again
- Video: What Is Critical Race Theory and Why Are States Banning It?
How to Cite This Page
Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is Under Attack (2021, June 11). Education Week. Retrieved Month Day, Year from http://www.edweek.org/leadership/map-where-critical-race-theory-is-under-attack/2021/06
Visualizations by Emma Patti Harris and Eesha Pendharkar
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