Veteran educator, IEA member, and current Chair of Idaho’s Professional Standards Commission, Kathy Davis, joined us to share her thoughts on the furor over “indoctrination” of Idaho students. From failing to pass education budgets to HB 377 to the Lieutenant Governor’s task force, unfounded accusations that teachers are forcing students to learn “leftist agendas”, socialism, and critical race theory have taken over the legislative session.
Kathy sheds some light on the controversy, including…
- The role of the PSC and the state Code of Ethics in guiding educators
- How HB 377 might impact the academic freedom of educators
- What students might miss out on if censorship take root
- How emotionally charged some of the rhetoric is
- How teachers’ reluctance to speak up has created a misinterpretation of what is happening in Idaho classrooms
Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin has set up a task force to “examine indoctrination in Idaho education based on critical race theory, socialism, communism, and Marxism”. The task force will be taking public input at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxEy2t5UBBBCTI9hFaS7AZafqnN7GzyHo5FIsYPylq6IBYmg/viewform