Oklahoman
Members of the Oklahoma City Board of Education unanimously disavowed a new law banning critical race theory from being taught in public schools.
Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the legislation, House Bill 1775, into law Friday.
All eight members of the school board voted to formally denounce the bill during a meeting Monday evening.
Board member Ruth Veales, who is Black and Native American, said the law aims to quiet conversations on race “in order to protect white fragility.”
“As a district that’s over 80% students of color, this is definitely an insult,” Veales said. “It is a situation that is so egregious to me.”
Last Friday, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law a bill prohibiting Critical Race Theory or any curriculum that might cause white students “discomfort, guilt, anguish or psychological distress” from being taught in K-12 schools in the state. On Monday, the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education unanimously denounced the new law and called it exactly what it is and what I’ve been calling bills like it that have been pushed by Republicans across the country: They are white fragility bills.
Every single Oklahoma City Public Schools board member came out against House Bill 1775, the controversial bill that bans the teaching of critical race theory in Oklahoma schools.Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the bill into law last week. The measure bans certain topics about race and gender from being taught in Oklahoma schools. During a meeting Monday, all eight members of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education voted to denounce House Bill 1775. Some also called the bill racist and a form of censorship.Several board members who were former teachers said conversations they had in their classrooms would have been illegal if the bill was around a few years ago. As a district, we don t need this bill, Carole Thompson said. It s racist. It s cowardly. It s micromanaging, Meg McElhaney added.Oklahoma City Public Schools board members took turns denouncing the bill. It s disgusting, and to think that in 2021 we could have a bill like this introduced, let alone heard in a comm