Add North Dakota to the growing list of states taking a hard stand against the teachings of critical race theory (CRT).
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill on Friday that will effectively ban CRT from schools, and instead focus on a curriculum that is “factual, objective and aligned with state content standards.”
This bill calls out the Marxist ideology directly, and prohibits the teaching of CRT in the K-12 curriculum.
In the bill, CRT is defined as “the theory that racism is not merely the product of learned individual bias or prejudice, but that racism is systematically embedded in American society and the American legal system to facilitate racial inequality.”
The anti-CRT bill was introduced during a special session in the Senate, and passed with a vote of 39-9.
Fox News has the latest on North Dakota's CRT ban:
The governor of North Dakota signed a bill Friday banning critical race theory (CRT) in schools, making North Dakota the latest Republican-controlled state to take legislative action against CRT in public education.
"This bill addresses the concerns of parents while preserving the decision-making authority of local school boards to approve curriculum that is factual, objective and aligned with state content standards," Gov. Doug Burgum told Fox News in a statement. He signed the bill Friday.
KX News first reported that the bill cleared the Senate. It passed the Senate 38-9, according to the state legislature's website. The bill cleared the state House 76-16 on Thursday.
The anti-CRT bill was swiftly introduced and approved during a special session that was called to address redistricting and the spending of coronavirus stimulus money.
Here are more details on the text of the bill from the Daily Wire:
The text of the one-page bill reads in part:
Each school district and public school shall ensure instruction of its curriculum is factual, objective, and aligned to the kindergarten through grade twelve state content standards. A school district or public school may not include instruction relating to critical race theory in any portion of the district’s required curriculum … or any other curriculum offered by the district or school. For purposes of this section, “critical race theory” means the theory that racism is not merely the product of learned individual bias or prejudice, but that racism is systemically embedded in American society and the American legal system to facilitate racial inequality. The superintendent of public instruction may adopt rules to govern this section.
Liberals have continually denied the existance of CRT in schools, though conservatives believe otherwise.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!