Both the Texas House and Texas Senate late Thursday gave final approval to Senate Bill 3. The bill will set out new rules for how teachers deal with controversial issues and current events in the classroom.
It was placed on the agenda for the special session after Governor Greg Abbott expressed dissatisfaction with a previous bill, HB 3979. He urged lawmakers to take additional steps to prevent teachers from using critical race theory. That academic theory gained national attention last year following protests against the death of George Floyd.
Related
"We see it creeping into Texas public schools. We hear this from teachers, from parents - there's evidence," said State Senator Bryan Hughes, R-Tyler.
The bill specifies that teachers should not advocate for specific positions when discussing current events or controversial issues.
Sen. Hughes said teachers will still be allowed to teach "the whole truth of the difficult, negative things in our past...teaching how we've overcome them...and all the work we have left to do - working together as Americans, not dividing ourselves based on race."
Democrats have criticized the bill as an effort to block teachers from bring up racism in the classroom.
"We're not trying to indoctrinate students, we're not trying to make Anglo students feel ashamed of their past. I think that would be wrong. We're simply trying to teach the truth," said State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, "so that students can have a healthy appreciation of the past."
Governor Abbott is expected to sign the bill into law.