Amid attempts to suppress discussions on racism, sexism, and inequity in public schools, the UEA is standing firm.
Special interest groups and policymakers across our country, in yet another attempt to divide Americans along partisan and racial lines, are pushing legislation that seeks to stifle discussions on racism, sexism, and inequity in public school classrooms.
Despite the rhetoric around them, these new laws do not prohibit teaching the full sweep of U.S. history, including teaching about nearly 250 years of slavery, the Civil War, the Reconstruction period, or the violent white supremacy that brought Reconstruction to an end and has persisted in one or another form ever since. Nor should these laws and policies undermine efforts to ensure that all students, including historically marginalized students, feel seen in the classroom and benefit from culturally inclusive curricula and pedagogical tools that teach the truth about our country.
In Utah, those efforts have resulted in adopting a new rule by the State Board of Education that governs how certain instruction is provided.
