Idaho’s Republican-controlled Senate passed a bill that would ban critical race theory lessons in all public schools.
“It is a preventative measure. It does not indicate that we have a rampant problem in Idaho. But we don’t want to get one,” Republican state Sen. Carl Crabtree, who co-sponsored the bill, said.
Idaho could become the first state to ban the curriculum after lawmakers voted 28-7 on Monday. The bill will now head to Republican Gov. Brad Little’s desk as the state House has also approved it.
Teaching critical race theory, which argues that the United States is a fundamentally racist country and citizens can be inherently racist based on their skin color, has spread in schools around the country in recent months.