The North Dakota Senate on Friday overwhelmingly passed bills banning critical race theory in public schools and restricting vaccine mandates, sending the measures on to Gov. Doug Burgum, who signed both into law.
The divisive topics were among the last the Senate dealt with before this week’s special session of the Legislature wound down to a mid-Friday adjournment.
House Bill 1508 sponsored by Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, which forbids the teaching of critical race theory, passed the House Thursday morning on a 76-16 vote. The Senate voted 38-9 to approve it early Friday.
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. Kasper has called the academic theory “insidious” and said the goal of the legislation is to protect children from inappropriate topics.
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