Bills On Banning Books, Transgender Sports, Race Signed By Kemp

CUMMING, GA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a package of education bills Thursday at Forsyth County Arts and Learning Center, many aimed at conservative hot-button issues such as the teaching of racially divisive issues, transgender participation in sports and content allowed in school libraries.

Most notable of these bills is House Bill 1084, known as the Protect Students First Act, which prohibits the teaching of "divisive concepts" in the classroom as well as in professional training. Under the law, divisive concepts are defined as those that espouse, among others, that the United States in fundamentally racist; that a person, by virtue of their race, is inherently racist, bears responsibility for past actions of people of the same race, or should feel anguish or guilt; and that performance-based advancement or the appreciation of work ethic is racist.

Parents, legally emancipated students and school district employees can file complaints with the school district if they believe a violation of the law has occurred.

"We see this bill as being designed to prevent the teaching of systematic racism and trying to sustain the legacy of Jim Crow, which I’m very much a part of," Samuel D. Jolly, a former president of Morris Brown College and chairman of the Council of HBCU Past Presidents, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after the bill passed the General Assembly.

The law also establishes an executive oversight committee for high school sports to oversee organizations such as the Georgia High School Association. The provision allows the committee to determine if people born male at birth can participate in girls athletics at the high school level.

Kemp took veiled shots at Democrats and opponents of the bill at a news conference prior to signing the bills, including lawmakers in the General Assembly.

"Here in Georgia, our classrooms will not be pawns to those who indoctrinate our kids with their partisan political agendas," Kemp said.

Terrence Wilson, the regional policy and community engagement director for the Intercultural Development Research Association, said Tuesday in a joint news conference over Zoom with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center the bills are not what they profess to be about — parental rights and divisive concepts.

"In truth, this effort is meant to give small but loud groups of parents the ability to censor what students can learn about the role of racism, bigotry, oppression and marginalization, not only as a part of the truthful history of this country, but also their current impact on students' experiences right now in Georgia," Wilson said.

Kemp also signed Senate Bill 226, which bans books and materials it deems "harmful to minors." Under the law, the term is defined as containing "nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic behavior" when it:

• appeals to the prurient, shameful or morbid interest of minors;
• is offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors;
• lacking in serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors.

HB 1178, known as the Parental Bill of Rights, establishes procedures for parents to object to instructional materials and content in the classroom, including withdrawal of the student from sex education programs.

Another bill, SB 588, is intended to ensure local school board meetings are more transparent, according to Kemp, and includes a provision for boards to include a public comment agenda item for each regular monthly meeting.

Other laws Kemp signed included a measure that doubles a tax credit program for student scholarships, another introducing a high school graduation requirement that students complete a half-credit financial literacy course and a third allowing retired teachers to return to the classroom full-time in areas of high need.

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