SD House lawmakers limit 'critical race theory' bill's reach

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota House lawmakers on Wednesday put their mark on a proposal from Gov. Kristi Noem, recommending that the state bar universities from requiring students and employees to attend trainings that teach so-called “divisive” concepts about race, religion and national origin.

The Republican governor has touted the proposal as a way to “protect” students from critical race theory — the lighting rod concept that has become a political rallying cry on the right.

She said last week that a pair of bills, which would apply separately to universities and K-12 public schools, would ensure “our students are not taught that they are responsible for (the) different actions of our ancestors.”

But Republican lawmakers, who control the House Education committee, made significant revisions to the bill Wednesday before giving it their recommendation, including stipulating that the proposed law doesn't apply to what is taught in university courses. Noem's office supported the changes.

The Board of Regents also supported the bill, arguing that it would not change how it already operates.

Still, university students worried it would stifle free speech on campus and keep difficult historical truths from being fully explored in classrooms.

“I’m an adult and I should be able to make a decision about my education on my own without government interference,” Ally Feiner, the student body president at the University of South Dakota, told the committee.

The bill names a list of “divisive concepts," which include ideas that any race, national origin or religion is “inherently superior or inferior” and that individuals are “inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin.”

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