Amid growing critical race theory legislation, education experts say textbook content could be next

Kathyrn Garra was horrified to see dozens of angry parents show up to a school board meeting in Naples, Florida, last month to try to stop the Collier County School Board from approving new textbooks.

The parents argued that the books should be ousted because the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, had shared blog posts about racial justice and expressed a commitment to Black Lives Matter on its website, actions they said amounted to endorsing the teaching of critical race theory in schools.

“Critical race theory is not being taught in our schools, it’s just not,” said Garra, 48, the mother of an incoming high school junior. “But here you have people complaining about something they know nothing about and now going after textbooks.”

Critical race theory, or the academic study of racism’s impact, has become a flashpoint in U.S. schools and a point of attack for conservative activists. At least nine states have enacted bans on teaching topics related to racial equity and systematic injustice through legislation or other measures that bar critical race theory.

Even though textbook content isn’t explicitly mentioned in legislation in most states, education experts say the restrictions may spill over to textbooks as book review commissions dilute content they interpret as falling under bans.

Textbook adoption panels, for instance, may now avoid choosing anything that might go against what the state wants teachers to teach or that could expose the district to litigation, said Julia Kaufman, a senior policy researcher at the nonprofit Rand Corporation where she co-directs the American Educator Panels.

With largely vague guidelines regarding what is off limits, most will likely err on the side of caution, she added.