Testa and Pennacchio unveil bill targeting ‘Critical Race Theory’

State Sens. Michael Testa (R-Vineland) and Joe Pennacchio (R-Montville) released legislation this morning aimed at preventing ‘Critical Race Theory’ – a term typically used by conservatives to refer to race- and identity-focused curricula – from being taught in New Jersey schools.

More specifically, the bill would prohibit the ideas that an individual’s character is defined by their identity and that some people are inherently privileged or bigoted because of their identity, among others.

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“Critical race theory is a thinly-veiled effort to legitimize discrimination under the guise of an intellectual social theory,” Testa said in a statement accompanying the legislation. “Our legislation ensures that New Jersey’s public schools will not teach students that it’s okay to judge others or themselves or to treat people differently based on broad stereotypes that some inappropriately ascribe to an entire race or gender.”

The bill would separately require the state Board of Education to adopt and enforce guidelines preventing teachers from advocating for political beliefs in the classroom.

“In many classrooms … we’ve heard of teachers engaging in political advocacy and pushing partisan ideologies when they should have been teaching math, science, history, and literacy,” Pennacchio said. “Our legislation will prevent unnecessary and inappropriate distractions that steal from instruction time.”

By promoting such legislation, Testa and Pennacchio are wading into a controversial national battle over identity and education – and one that appears to have paid dividends for Republicans in places like Virginia. But in a Democratic legislature controlled by center-left politicians, their bill is unlikely to see much daylight in New Jersey.