A revised Kentucky bill aimed at critical race theory moves forward. What’s in it?

Originally Published on Lexington Herald-Leader

With the sponsor saying he has been unfairly accused of being “a racist” and “a fascist,” a revised Kentucky bill aimed at critical race theory gained approval from a Republican-led Senate committee Thursday.

Senate Bill 138, The Teaching American Principles Act, introduced by state Senate Education Committee chairman Max Wise, was approved by that committee with a 9-4 vote.

The bill says instruction on controversial topics will be non-discriminatory and age appropriate.

The legislation would require several curriculum documents and resources to be added to the Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies.

The bill also calls for a reading list across middle and high school curricula. It includes the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, The Monroe Doctrine, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” speech by Frederick Douglass, two pieces by Martin Luther King Jr. and “A Time for Choosing” by Ronald Reagan.

Wise, R-Campbellsville, said he rewrote certain parts of the original bill, which now goes to the full Senate, because there were “misunderstandings.”

Wise said the bill gives school employee guidance on materials, but as a result of the revisions “we are not telling teachers what they can and cannot teach and what our students can and cannot learn.”

“Amid national and statewide tensions that seemed to be further dividing us, I drafted a bill with the attempt to unify,” Wise said. He said the bill encourages teachers to help students analyze historical and current issues and controversies….