Critical race theory has been around since the seventies, but burst into the vernacular when Donald Trump issued an
executive order last fall censuring discussion of topics related to race in federal diversity seminars provided by contractors. Then, this spring, the Texas Legislature passed a
bill, authored by Steve Toth, who represents a state House district that includes Conroe ISD, targeting what he identifies as critical race theory (though the bill doesn’t use the term). The Texas law dictates that teachers must discuss current events in the classroom from both sides of each issue (if they choose to discuss them at all). It also prohibits educators from teaching material that might prompt students’ “discomfort, guilt, and anguish.”