Posted by:
schrodingerscat
(
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Date: May 17, 2021 02:30PM
https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2021/05/17/exclusive-utah-could-ban/“ Lawmakers pushed hard to include a bill to ban the teaching of critical race theory in Utah’s schools, but Gov. Spencer Cox declined their requests.
Critical race theory was developed in the 1970s and 1980s. It asserts that racism is inextricably linked to the history of the United States. The concept is not currently taught in Utah’s schools.
More than a dozen GOP-controlled legislatures are considering targeting critical race theory at the federal level. The Idaho Legislature was the first to pass such a restriction via a bill that withholds funding from schools that teach viewpoints “often found in critical race theory.” A bill in Tennessee also withholds funding from schools found to be teaching those concepts, and Texas legislators are considering a similar measure.
Utah Rep. Burgess Owens plans to to introduce a pair of bills targeting critical race theory at the federal level.....
.... Utah Board of Education spokesperson Mark Peterson said the state board is considering recommendations on issues like diversity, equity and inclusion in schools and providing professional training in those areas for teachers.
“Critical race theory is not part of the state core standards,” Peterson said.
Those state core standards are what all public schools in Utah use to set curriculum for students. There has been concern among members of the public that portions of that training are focused on critical race theory and that it may show up in classroom content......
.... Some say the issue is being pushed by right-wing media, which has amplified the teaching of systemic racism in the nation’s schools. The left-leaning Media Matters for America says Fox News covered the topic more than 550 times in an 11-month period. The topic was discussed on the network 235 times in April alone.
But the real question is whether this issue is so urgent that it needs to be addressed in a special session instead of through the normal legislative process.
Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Salt Lake City, is a retired teacher.
“There is a process. I’ve talked to members of the state board. They’ve never had a meeting about this topic or any kind of formal discussion about it,” she said.
She says the state does not make any changes to the curriculum, and local schools take their marching orders from the State Board of Education.
“There are enough people alarmed by this we should watch it carefully,” Riebe said. “To put something this emotional in a special session will deny the public the input they deserve.”
I wonder if the curriculum will cover the thoroughly debunked bogus racist myths still considered ‘the Word of God’ canonized in MORmON scriptures and published and distributed every day all around the world.