Missouri Senate OKs limits on race education in schools

— Missouri K-12 public school teachers would face limits on how they talk about race and history under a bill approved Wednesday in the state Senate. The proposal is the latest of GOP-led efforts nationwide to push what supporters call parent’s rights and crack down on what some conservative politicians have dubbed “critical race theory.” 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. The bill includes exceptions for teaching about “sexism, slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, affirmative action” and laws that lead to discrimination, as well as “discussing current events in a historical context.” Classes on Black, Native American, women’s, Asian American and Latino history also are carved out in the measure. Questioned on the Senate floor by Democratic Sen. Karla May, of St. Louis, about whether educators could talk about current laws that have racist implications, Koenig said that would be “perfectly fine.” “If there are specific policies that may be deemed racist, it’s perfectly fine to teach about that even in the present,” Koenig said. “What we’re not saying is: little Johnny in the classroom is somehow inherently racist or responsible for actions of someone else.” May and other Democrats raised concerns that despite the carve outs, the measure would scare teachers from talking about Black history.