Classroom Censorship

Public education should be a space where students can engage with a wide range of ideas, even if those ideas are controversial or challenge prevailing norms. Schools should serve as environments where a wide spectrum of ideas can be openly discussed and explored without restriction.  

By this point, all members of our communities have likely heard about ongoing efforts to censor the instruction of history, especially as it relates to race and racism, gender and sexuality, and other topics that invite and encourage students to critically engage with the legacies of our country.  

Rather than protecting students (as much of this legislation claims to set out to do), these bills would limit their education and rob students of imperative lessons about our past that will prepare them for our future. These bills also create a culture of surveillance that makes the daily work of teachers, librarians, and other public servants more difficult.

Legislation like SB49, which the legislature recently passed despite a veto from Governor Cooper, represents an unfortunately widespread will to remove curricular content that teaches students about LGBTQIA+ identities and experiences. HB187, if passed, would limit free speech in schools and rob students of an inclusive and well-rounded education by suppressing important classroom discussions about race, gender, and equity. This bill was most recently referred to the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate.