New Florida law bans critical race theory in schools and the workplace

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Friday banning critical race theory at both schools and events like on-the-job training, calling the concept a tool of division.

DeSantis and others have described CRT as the notion that race determines one’s standing—either as an oppressor or as a victim.

This approach encourages racial fixation and minimizes personal responsibility, CRT critics say.

However, proponents argue that America’s scarred racial history is understudied in public schools and that children should be exposed to a broader history of the nation.

They add that the reported amount of CRT being taught in schools is exaggerated and is only being used to foment escalating public education culture wars.

DeSantis said at a news conference Friday that Florida schools already provide a comprehensive overview of America’s past, including mandatory classes on slavery, the civil rights movement and the Holocaust.

“We teach all of this because it’s real history, it’s important,” he said. “We will not allow people to distort history to serve their current ideological agenda.

“Nor will we teach that values ​​like merit, excellence, hard work, fairness, neutrality, objectivity, color blindness are in any way racist or sexist,” he said. “You are not.”