Kentucky's anti-'critical race theory' bills draw ire of students, educators

FRANKFORT — A week into the 2022 legislation session, neither of Kentucky's anti-"critical race theory" bills have advanced.

That didn't stop close to 100 students, educators and activists from protesting the measures in Frankfort Wednesday, arguing the proposed legislation limits educators' ability to teach the nation's full history lest it make some students uncomfortable.

Tyler Terrell, an eighth-grader at Leestown Middle School, is Black and Korean-American. He hated learning about Black history in elementary school, he told a crowd gathered in the Capitol Rotunda.

Background: What is critical race theory? 

It gave him nightmares. 

"I thought that my history was ugly," he said.

His school curriculum's failure to accurately, fully reflect history made him think his history was "irrelevant," he said. 

"It made me think that my history was somehow less than that of others'," Tyler said. "It made me think that white history was the superior one."

Two bills facing Kentucky lawmakers, House Bills 14 and 18, are part of a national, conservative-led push to eradicate "critical race theory" from schools. 

Critical race theory, or CRT, is an academic framework used to examine how systems and institutions perpetuate racial inequities. It is not taught in K-12 schools, largely being taught at the collegiate level. 

Conservatives have co-opted the term to broadly, inaccurately apply to any diversity or equity effort undertaken by schools to correct longstanding racial disparities in achievement, discipline and curriculum. 

Kentucky's bills would prohibit educators from mentioning concepts that would teach students that one race or sex is "inherently superior" or that an individual is "inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously" due to their race or sex.

HB 14, sponsored by Rep. Joe Fischer, R-Fort Thomas, would apply to K-12 schools and subject districts that the Attorney General finds to have violated the law to financial penalties. 

HB 18, sponsored by Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, does not list financial penalties but would also apply to Kentucky's public colleges and universities. 

Kentucky education bills: Here are the education bills to watch in 2022

Education leaders previously told lawmakers the measure threatens professors' academic freedom and colleges' accreditation, potentially causing them to lose national credibility and eligibility for federal aid. 

Since the bills were prefiled in June, educators have contended they're so broad and vague, they would be forced to avoid most moments in history involving race or racism.

A forthcoming survey from the Kentucky Student Voice Team of nearly 11,000 students across the state found students are already discussing these topics on their own.

The voice team is an independent, student-led group that advocates for student involvement in education.

Critical race theory:Educators worry politics will curb efforts to better teach about race

Close to half of the survey respondents said they at least sometimes discuss issues involving race outside of the classroom, said Pragya Upreti, a Student Voice Team member and a senior at Lafayette High School.

The bills would prevent their teachers from helping students navigate challenging conversations or better understand diverse populations, she said. 

"We cannot afford to graduate with one hand tied behind our backs, unable to navigate a world that's so different from the one in which our parents and politicians grew up in," Upreti said.

Jeni Bolander, a teacher in Lexington, said she uses "March," a graphic novel trilogy about the civil rights movement. She prefaces the lessons with a note that it could make students uncomfortable.

"If we don't learn better, we're never going to do better," she said. 

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One speaker questioned where this bill was when students of color faced lessons or institutional stereotypes that have made them uncomfortable for years. 

"We need our history and classroom discussion to include us," Tyler, the eighth grader, said. 

Without that, he said, "how are we to know we are also worthy?"

Reach Olivia Krauth at okrauth@courierjournal.com and on Twitter at @oliviakrauth.