HB 7, a bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis that bans educators from teaching certain topics related to race like “Critical Race Theory” has taken effect in Florida public k-12 schools for the 2022-23 academic year.
DeSantis signed HB 7, formally called the “Individual Freedom” measure on April 22 after it was passed by the Florida Legislature in March. HB 7, which will drastically limit race education in schools has gone into effect since July 1, just in time for the new academic school year starting in the Fall.
The new bill will eliminate teachings in public schools that “one race, color, national origin, or sex are morally superior to members of another race, color, national origin, or sex” and that “a person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”
Gov. DeSantis said in a press conference while signing bill HB 7 into law in April that he did not believe in using taxpayer money into teaching kids to “hate each other“.
“We are not gonna use your tax dollars to teach our kids to hate this country or to hate each other,” DeSantis said. “We believe in education, not indoctrination. We believe an important component of freedom in the state of Florida is the freedom from having oppressive ideologies opposed upon you without your consent.”
Critical Race Theory is a belief that racism is inherently infused into American institutions and legal systems.
Gov DeSantis said he believes the new bill will prevent teachers from making students feel guilt/shame about their race because of historical events.
“We believe that every single student matters, every single student counts,” DeSantis said Friday. “We are not going to categorize you based on your race. We are not gonna tell some kindergartener that they’re an oppressor based on their race and what may have happened 100 or 200 years ago. And we’re not gonna tell other kids that they’re oppressed based on their race.”
