A controversial topic usually reserved for college classrooms will be discussed Thursday by Cobb County School Board members.
The panel is scheduled to talk about critical race theory at its work session. However, Chairman Randy Scamihorn declined to share with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution details related to the scope of the discussion.
The board’s work session starts at 1 p.m., followed by its regular meeting at 7 p.m.
Critical race theory highlights how racism influences all aspects of society and how past systemic inequities continue to shape policies. It has become a flashpoint for conservatives who say it is influencing what is being taught in grade schools.
Critics also say it distorts history and casts white people as exploiters who owe a debt to everyone else, especially Black people.
The state board of education passed a resolution last week to set parameters around how race is to be taught in schools. Gov. Brian Kemp last month urged the board to take “immediate steps to ensure that critical race theory and its dangerous ideology do not take root in our state standards and curriculum.”
Following the state’s action, school board members in Gwinnett as well as Cobb took to social media to criticize the resolution. Cobb school board member Jaha Howard said systemic racism, both past and present, “has devastating effects on Georgians both inside and outside the classroom.”
“Let’s trust our educators and allow them to teach the full scope of our shared history,” he said. “Let’s trust our counselors and health care professionals to promote the full scope of student wellness. Let’s trust our communities to grapple with the full scope of our unique diversity.”
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