Staff Reports
In response to a law that prohibits the teaching of sexist and racist concepts in schools, a school board in Pennsylvania voted to defy the law. The board also expressed its opposition to four-state legislation that would restrict the teaching of such concepts.
One of the bills that was sponsored by Republicans was HB1532. They claimed that it sought to limit the controversial nature of Critical Race Theory. Devon Taliaferro, the director of Pittsburgh Public Schools, said that the legislature has no control over what's taught in schools.
CRT and Gender Theory are now part of PA’s school curriculum: pic.twitter.com/3s5UwLFdLR
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 17, 2022
According to Taliaferro, the resolution sends a strong message to the state's legislators: They don't have to decide how to educate the students. They don't have to determine what's happening in the classrooms and in cities across the state. It gives the school district an opportunity to stand up and be counted.
Other bills, such as HB2813, sought to allow parents to opt out of the curriculum that includes sexually explicit content. In kindergarten through fifth grade, House Bill 2813 would prevent teachers from teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation.
The resolution adopted by the school board twisted the bill's intentions. It stated that the bill would allow educators to marginalize and discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community. However, state Senator Doug Mastriano said that the legislature was only concerned with protecting children.
According to Mastriano, the Commonwealth has to restore its common sense. Bureaucrats have the power to decide what's taught in schools, and this has to stop. Parents have the last say, and education should be the focus.
The Republicans have been fighting against the teaching of far-left and CRT curriculums in schools, claiming that it's destroying the country.
The Pittsburgh School District plans to send the resolution opposing the bills to their respective sponsors and the governor.
