This classroom censorship bill seeks to prevent public educators from teaching the full truth of past and present race and gender inequalities in their classrooms. It would also subject public educators to undue surveillance of their instruction, burden them with unnecessary complaint processes, and threaten school districts with the loss of a significant amount of state funding for unjustified reasons.
This bill is nearly identical to a K-12 censorship bill that failed to pass during the previous legislative session, H. 3728.
We oppose this bill because:
- The prohibited concepts are vague. It is impossible for teachers to know which lessons, language, or materials might be prohibited.
- This bill is unnecessary. Discriminatory conduct is already prohibited by federal and state law – including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and their counterparts in South Carolina law.
- This bill would task school districts with investigating educators based on frivolous and personally motivated complaints, taking focus away from education and placing it on politically motivated inquisitions.
