Georgia Education Advocates Condemn the Passage of HB 1084 and HB 1178

GEORGIA – Today, the Georgia Senate passed House Bill 1084, which defines race and racism as “divisive concepts” and bans discussions of them in classrooms across Georgia. It also passed House Bill 1178, which allows parents to burden administrations with endless complaints if they disagree with the curriculum being taught in their schools. Both bills now head to Governor Brian Kemp’s desk for signature and education advocates are urging him to use his veto power to protect students.

The following statement is by a coalition of individuals and organizations, including the SPLC Action Fund, which oppose these bills:

This slate of harmful education bills claims to promote and protect intellectual freedom – and yet does the exact opposite by mandating the adoption of inaccurate concepts, prohibiting truthful classroom conversations and punishing schools that allow students and educators to engage critically with the history of this country. These bills come as a direct reaction to the false rhetoric on “critical race theory,” all while ignoring the true challenges of the Georgia education system: over two decades of underfunded classrooms and two years of a deadly pandemic.

Georgia student Alex Ames said: “Right now, there are Georgia students who go to schools named after Confederate generals. There are classrooms without enough teachers or textbooks to make it through the year, and there are hundreds of thousands of children learning in poverty. To neglect these issues while simultaneously rewriting the history that got us here is disgraceful. A generation of Georgians may bear the consequences.”

Gwinnett student Adunni Noibi added, “When these politicians stand up and say they’re fighting for ‘the children’ by banning history, I know they’re lying. I go to school in a place where plantations once stood, where monuments to confederate leaders and slave owners still stand. The man appointed to lead our colleges and universities made April Confederate History Month in Georgia. Erasing my people’s history is a threat to all people’s future.”

The passage of these bills is all the more concerning after the events of the Senate Youth and Education committee earlier this week when the committee refused students the ability to testify, pushing through the legislation with no opportunity for public commentary or debate, and despite pushback from educational stakeholder groups at every level of the public education system.

“HB 1084 bill silences the voices of the students you claim to be protecting” says Savannah student Jalen Connor, who was one of many students denied public testimony during the Senate Youth and Education hearing this past Monday. “But what are you protecting them from exactly? The bill talks about banning divisive concepts being taught in the classroom when in actuality these concepts do not exist. How long has it been since any one of you have been inside a high school history class? Because for me it was last Friday.” 

As individuals, organizations, and coalition members who have opposed these bills from day one, we remain committed in our opposition to HB 1084 and HB 1178. Our families know that their children’s schools and future are on the ballot this November – as are the very politicians who disappointed us again today. We are asking Governor Kemp to listen to Georgia students, parents, educators, and advocates and veto these bills.

“Passage of these bills is a watershed moment for the state of Georgia,” said Isabel Otero, Georgia policy director for the SPLC Action Fund. “At a time where school administrators are struggling to retain educators, this legislature decided to add new burdens and vague procedures with the passage of HB 1084 and HB 1178, with some devastating financial consequences. But Governor Kemp has an opportunity to end this assault on our schools and students and our democracy by exercising his veto power. Our children deserve better.”