The Texas state Senate has voted to stop teaching children about the horrors of the Ku Klux Klan.
This bill would abolish obligations to explain the history of the white supremacist hate group’s “morally wrong” tactics in schools. On Friday, the Republican-controlled Senate passed Bill 3 by a vote of 18-4. The bill is now on its way to the House of Representatives, which is also primarily governed by Republicans, giving it a better chance of passing.
Under the current requirement, students learn the “history of white supremacy.” This includes the history of the slave trade in the United States, the eugenics movement, and the history and crimes of the Ku Klux Klan, among other topics.
Opponents of the bill believe that it is an attack on the Critical Race Theory, which looks at the impact of race and prejudice in the United States. Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a bill to limit the theory from being taught in classrooms.
Democratic politicians, such as state Senator Judith Zaffirini, have already criticized the new bill, calling it an attempt to “bind the hands of our teachers.”
