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Kemp said during his January State of the State address that he would work with lawmakers to stop the “divisive ideology” of critical race theory in schools. Academic theory is taught in college courses to study the impact of racism on institutions and society. Georgia school districts say it is not taught in K-12 classrooms.
On Monday, Kemp spoke from the house again and said he looked forward “to continuing the extremely important conversation” about bills yet to be passed this evening, including “about fairness in school sports” and “divisive concepts.”
DiscoverLawmakers agree that taxpayers should pour more money into private schools
The bill was amended in the House Monday to create a school sports oversight committee to investigate and determine whether transgender students are allowed to participate in public high school sports that conform to their gender identity.
A bill passed by the Senate but not heard in the House of Representatives would have directly required student athletes to exercise according to the sex on their birth certificates.
House Democrat Chairman James Beverly of Macon condemned the last-minute maneuvering. “Attacking trans children, banning children from sports and attacking teachers at the same time – appalling,” he said.
Senate Democrats tried and failed to kill the legislation. After the clock ticked past midnight, the Senate approved the amended bill by a 32-21 vote on the party line, with Republicans voting in favor of the measure.
