The state education board will hold a special meeting Thursday to consider a resolution that sets guardrails around classroom discussions of race.
The meeting comes on the heels of Gov. Brian Kemp’s call to ensure critical race theory is not taught in Georgia schools.
The 5-page draft resolution says in part that the board, which is appointed by governors, “believes” that schools should not teach that “an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex ... .”
This was among the sentiments voiced by primarily white speakers at metro Atlanta area school board meetings last month. Many said they didn’t want students to feel like they were oppressors simply because they are white.
The resolution says the board believes no federal grants should be sought if the funding requires or encourages such concepts or practices and calls on the board to create formal rules around the stated education board beliefs.
Kemp joined the growing chorus of Republicans, including state Attorney General Chris Carr, opposing critical race theory, the decades-old educational concept that seeks to highlight how historical inequities and racism shape all aspects of society.
In a letter last month, Kemp urged the state Board of Education to take “immediate steps to ensure that critical race theory and its dangerous ideology do not take root in our state standards and curriculum.”
The theory has been linked to schools’ diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. More than a dozen other states have passed or are considering legislation restricting how race and racism are taught in school.
The Georgia Board of Education meeting will be held at 1 p.m. via conference call and livestreamed at youtube.com/gadoemedia.
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