West Virginia Senate Advances Its Own Anti-Critical Race Theory Bill

Originally Published on Wheeling News-Register

While a bill in the West Virginia House of Delegates dealing with concepts derived from critical race theory didn’t make it over the finish line last week, a state Senate committee took up a long-dormant bill Monday that would also limit discussions of CRT concepts.

The Senate Education Committee recommended Senate Bill 498 on Monday afternoon after approving a committee substitute and two amendments to the bill. A motion was made during the Senate’s afternoon floor session to have the bill read a first time, setting the bill up for passage on Wednesday when bills must be passed and sent to the opposite chamber.

“I think this committee’s done great work making it better, so I feel as if I can vote for it,” state Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, said. “We are doing better, we’re striving to do better and we must continue to do so. I appreciate the work that this committee’s done to improve this legislation, because I was unsure as I arrived here today how I was going to vote on it, but I will support the bill.”

The bill was introduced Jan. 28 by Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, and put on the committee agenda Monday — one day after the deadline for bills to make it out of committee in their houses of origin. SB 498 would prohibit public schools, public charter schools, private schools, the state Board of Education and Department of Education, and the Higher Education Policy Commission/West Virginia Community and Technical College System from requiring instruction or courses in concepts derived from CRT.

The bill prohibits the teaching that one race, ethnic group, or biological sex is morally or intellectually superior or inferior to another; or that one race, ethnic group, or biological sex is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive either consciously or unconsciously….