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.”