Arizona teachers — from elementary school to state universities — would have to avoid lessons that blame or judge anyone based on race or ethnicity under a bill that emerged from a heated debate at the Arizona House on Wednesday.
Emotions ran high as lawmakers argued over House Bill 1412, Arizona’s version of the wave of anti-critical race theory instruction that has swept statehouses nationwide.
Among other things, the bill prevents instruction that says one race or ethnic group is inherently morally or intellectually superior to another race or ethnic race, or that anyone’s moral character is shaped by their race or ethnicity.
A teacher who is found to have violated the bill’s restrictions could face disciplinary action, up to and including loss of their teaching license. Schools could face fines of up to $5,000. Students, parents of students and employees of the school could file complaints that instruction guidelines were violated.
Republicans, who voted unanimously for the bill, chafed at the implication that they were punishing teachers.
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“Someone said let teachers teach,” Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said, adding he agrees. “But don’t let them spill vile, racist bile on our children.”
Democrats condemned the measure as an attack on teachers and as a legal roadblock to teaching about some of America’s darkest chapters.
“On a day when we should be on our hands and knees to thank teachers for their sacrifice for our children, I am concerned this bill will have the effect of driving those valuable teachers from our classrooms,” said Rep. Judy Schweibert, D-Phoenix.
She and other lawmakers noted the debate on the bill was happening as people across the nation were grappling with the aftermath of the mass shooting at a grade school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers.
“I protest that we have spent most of today talking about everything but what most Arizonans want us to talk about: gun violence,” said Rep. Jennifer Longdon, D-Phoenix, who was paralyzed by a shooting 18 years ago.
She pleaded with GOP leaders to resurrect bills addressing gun violence that were sidelined earlier this year.
Debate over what couldn’t get taught
Rep. Michelle Udall, R-Mesa, has championed a version of this bill since last year. A teacher herself, she rebuffed complaints that the bill would prevent classroom instruction on sensitive topics.
“I’m pretty sure teachers know how to teach about race without placing blame on one race or another,” she said.
In response to a question of whether a teacher could talk about the shooting earlier this month at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that targeted Black shoppers, Udall said she didn’t think it would be appropriate to teach that racism was the motive. Officials in New York have called the incident a racially-motivated crime.
The bill provides specific exemptions for teaching about “historical moments, ideologies or instances of racial hatred or discrimination,” including such events as slavery, Indian removal, the Holocaust or Japanese-American internment.
But critics said the bill’s admonition to not assign any blame will result in teachers walking on eggshells.
Beth Lewis, a classroom teacher and president of the Save Our Schools organization, watched the debate from the House gallery.
She fears the bill, if signed into law, would silence classroom discussions.
“I think you would lose a lot of context,” she said, when asked how she would approach a discussion about the Buffalo massacre.
Lewis said she’s heard from teachers who already are wary of broaching racially sensitive topics. For example, Lewis said she knows teachers who didn’t bring up Black History month or the 9/11 anniversary for fear of facing complaints.
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Bill extends to some university courses
This was the latest prolonged debate over the bill. Udall’s original version stalled when it reached the Senate, but was revived on a strike-everything amendment in the House.
The scope of the bill has also changed along its journey through the legislative process. It originally included “sex” along with race and ethnicity as one of the areas to which instructions could not assign and blame.
The bill was amended to include guest speakers in the orbit of teachers who would have to abide by the instruction guidelines.
It now also extends to community college and university instruction, although limited to courses that are required to get a teaching degree. part of teacher preparation curriculum.
Rep. Jennifer Jermaine, D-Chandler, lamented the bill’s reach to higher education.
“Those are supposed to be places of great debate,” she said. A member of the White Earth Nation, a tribe based in Minnesota. Jermaine said the bill could stifle knowledge of America’s history.
“When we’re told that people cannot debate the values and morals of aspects of history, you really cannot talk about the history of our Native peoples without talking about racism, classism and child removal,” she said.
With Wednesday’s 31-27 vote, along party lines, the bill goes back to the Senate for consideration. It is unclear when, or if, that will happen.
Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.
