North Fulton Today

A Georgia House committee is pushing for the passage of a bill that would ban the teaching of content that may be considered "divisive concepts" in public school classrooms.

The House Education Committee in late February voted 13-7 for House Bill 1084. The bill would effectively ban teaching of a list of content that was originally included in a now-repealed 2020 executive order by former Pres. Donald Trump, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. The bill is moving to the Georgia House of Representatives for review. 

State Rep. Will Wade, the lead sponsor of the bill, said, "This is to ensure that we become the United States of America, and we are united in addressing these issues," according to FOX 5.

The concept of banning certain content from classrooms has received heated opinions from both sides, with Republicans pushing back against critical race theory. The term has morphed from its original meaning, which stood as an examination of how societal structures perpetuate white dominance to a broader indictment of diversity initiatives and teaching about race, FOX 5 said.

"Is an educator going to get in trouble for saying slavery is wrong?," Rep. Bee Nguyen, (D-Atlanta) said, posing a question that challenges the bill. "That’s inserting a personal belief."

Banned "divisive concepts" would include any claims that the United States is "fundamentally or systematically racist," that any people are "inherently racist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously," and that no one "should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of his or her race," according to FOX 5. 

If the bill passes through the House, the new measures would coincide with other state laws that say parents have the right to review key classroom materials and to withdraw their students from sex education, which has been a law since before 2006, according to FOX 5.