Let's take a look at the false claim stating teachers in Dallas are no longer allowed to say "slavery" in class due to education changes in Texas.
Dallas teachers not banned from saying ‘slavery’ in class
https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-education-CRT-racism-slavery-texas-117361570762
CLAIM: Teachers in the Dallas public school system can no longer say the word “slavery” in class.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The Dallas Independent School District says it hasn’t banned use of the word. The Texas Board of Education said it is not considering curriculum changes that would downplay the role of slavery in American history, either. The statewide teachers’ union says it’s not aware of any other Texas school districts restricting use of the word “slavery.”
THE FACTS: Social media users are voicing concerns this week that schools in Texas are trying to diminish the role of slavery in American history amid an ongoing debate about
critical race theory, an academic approach that emphasizes the impact of systemic racism on the country.
“Just jumping in here to remind everyone that as we end the year, in school districts like Dallas ISD teachers are not allowed to use the word ‘slavery’ in class and are still awaiting to see what term that they can use to describe slavery, such as ‘involuntary relocation’,” a Twitter user wrote in a post that’s been shared or liked more than 38,000 times as of Thursday.
But teachers and school officials in Texas say no such ban exists.
“This is simply inaccurate,” Robyn Harris, a spokesperson for the Dallas Independent School District, wrote in an email. “There is nothing in Dallas ISD policy that limits teachers from using that word.”
Rena Honea, president of the Dallas teachers’ union, concurred, writing in an email Thursday that she had confirmed with top district administrators this week that there have been no policy changes to prevent uttering “slavery” in class.
Nicole Hill, a spokesperson for the Texas AFT, said the statewide affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers also isn’t aware of any other Texas school districts restricting use of the word.
The claims come following an uproar this summer over a statewide curriculum change proposed by Texas education officials.
The controversial proposal would have
incorporated the phrase “involuntary relocation” into some elementary school lesson plans to describe how African people were sold into slavery and forcefully transported to America.
But the Texas Board of Education ultimately rejected the proposal -- which has been misinterpreted as a plan to ban using the word slavery outright -- over concerns the phrase “did not paint a clear or full picture” of the devastating human trade.
“This board is committed to the truth, which includes accurate descriptions of historical events,” Keven Ellis, the board’s chairman, said
in a statement at the time. “Our state’s curriculum will not downplay the role of slavery in American history.”
Jacob Kobersky, a spokesperson for the Texas Education Agency, which oversees primary and secondary public education in the state, said Thursday that no action has been taken on the recommendations since. The board’s broader review of statewide curriculum standards has been pushed into 2025.
“There is nothing that prevents the teaching of slavery in Texas classrooms and nothing that prohibits the use of the word ‘slavery’ in Texas schools,” he said by phone.
Still, labor union officials argue the false claims underscore the “climate of fear” among teachers about what they can safely say about American history and current events in the wake of the debate over critical race theory.
Last year,
Texas lawmakers enacted legislation preventing the teaching of CRT in local schools that included language limiting how slavery could be described.
“This is exactly what happens when politics is injected into the curriculum,” Zeph Capo, president of the Texas AFT, wrote in an email. “Now we are left with this ambiguity that is a breeding ground for fear, rumor and bad local policy.”
Developed by scholars in the 1970s and 1980s, critical race theory centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society.
There is little to no evidence that critical race theory itself is being presented to K-12 public school students, though some ideas central to it have been, such as the lingering consequences of slavery, the AP has reported.
