TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A bill has been filed with the Florida legislation that would ban Critical Race Theory in any context in all levels of Florida government, including colleges.
Rep. Randy Fine (R - Palm Bay) filed HB 57, which would ban the use of Critical Race Theory in training, policy, or any other context in all levels of government in Florida. The ban would include all public schools, both government-run and charter, all 12 public Florida Universities, all 28 State Colleges, all state agencies, all county and municipal governments, and all private government contractors.
Born out of the civil rights movement, critical race theory started as a way of examining laws through the lens of race and how laws can keep the powerful in power. It’s since spread to other disciplines, exploring how racism has impacted life throughout history and today.
“Critical Race Theory is racist at its core, and has no place in the State of Florida,” said Fine. “The notion that people are good or bad based on the color of their skin runs counter to everything our country was founded on. It is insidious, it is evil, and it is propagated to make our children hate their country. And as we have seen in Brevard County, radical politicians and bureaucrats are indoctrinating this hate into our principals, teachers, and ultimately, students.”
Governors or lawmakers in at least seven states have pushed measures aimed at keeping concepts like systemic racism and white privilege out of the classroom.
"Teaching kids to hate their country and hate each other is not worth one red cent," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Opponents say concepts like systemic racism put students in a mindset of either victim or oppressor.
Others have said limiting what teachers can teach is anti-American in and of itself.
