Indiana Senate kills CRT-inspired legislation that created outrage among educators, Black Hoosiers

The Indiana Senate killed controversial House Bill 1134, which would have banned several "divisive concepts" and given more power over curriculum and classroom activities to parents, Monday night after several hours of closed-door discussions in the Republican caucus.

Even though Republicans have a supermajority in the General Assembly, Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said he didn't have the votes to support the bill that was inspired by nearly a year of debate about "critical race theory" in the state's public schools.

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They were largely divided into two camps after a Senate committee watered it down in the face of opposition.

"We had some members of our caucus who felt like it didn't go far enough," he said. "We had some members of our caucus that felt like it was too much of a burden on education and just not good policy that we wanted to move forward."

The bill, which would have limited what teachers could say in the classroom about race, sex and religion had been staunchly opposed by educators, school leaders, civil rights groups, Black community organizations and leaders in the faith community.

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The bill was inspired by the opposition nationwide of primarily white, suburban parents to what was called "critical race theory" but was more often about social emotional learning and diversity, equity and inclusion work.

The bill would have given parents greater access to the lessons their children were being taught and more power to oppose material they found troubling.

Bray said he supported the legislation personally and had hoped to get it passed.

It was passed by the House last month, 60-37, along largely party lines but the version of the bill that the Senate was considering Monday had been significantly gutted. The list of "divisive concepts" shrank from eight items to three and provisions to allow parents to sue schools over things educators said in the classroom were stripped out.

Those who opposed the bill said it was a solution to a problem that doesn't exist in Indiana and risked driving teachers — a critical profession already in short supply — out of the field.

It had been largely opposed by the Black community, which worried that the bill would further limit representation of Black and other people of color in school curricula and result in an incomplete and inaccurate teaching of the country's difficult history.

"This is a good day for the state of Indiana," said Garry Holland, education chair of the Indianapolis NAACP, "not to accept that which would cause disenfranchisement of children and teachers."

The Indiana State Teachers Association, which has led a weeks-long effort to oppose the measure, celebrated its demise in a statement released Monday night.

"Over the past several weeks, ISTA members and public education advocates have shared their stories and voiced their concerns about stifling teachers’ ability to teach and students' ability to receive an honest education," said ISTA President Keith Gambill. "Hoosier parents and educators all want our students to succeed, and we’ll continue to be partners in standing up for what’s right for their future."

A similar bill was killed by the Senate earlier this session after Sen. Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville, became the focus of national outrage after saying Senate Bill 167 would require teachers to be neutral in their teaching on all topics, including Nazism, Marxism and fascism. He later walked back the comments.

Bray raised the specter that parts of the legislation could be added to another bill, though it's unclear precisely what. He said Senate Republicans were looking at "a piece or so" to keep alive but the entirety of it would not be parsed out in the final days of the legislative session.

The session is scheduled to end by March 14.

Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at 317-201-5620 or email her at Arika.Herron@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: HB 1134: Indiana Senate kills CRT-inspired legislation