Chairman Jamie Raskin's Opening Statement [PDF]

Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney's Opening Statement [PDF]

On Thursday, May 19, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, will hold a hearing to examine the ongoing efforts to prohibit discussion in K-12 classrooms about American history, race, and LGBTQ+ issues, and to punish teachers who violate vague and discriminatory state laws by discussing these topics.

Over the past year, 17 states have passed legislation or enacted executive orders prohibiting the teaching of certain topics related to race, and many states are following Florida’s lead in introducing and passing so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, which seeks to prohibit classroom discussion of gender and sexuality in many contexts.  Proponents of these laws claim they are meant to promote parental rights and transparency, but they are being used to attack teachers, undermine public education, and impose the will of a minority of parents on the majority.

Much of the legislation that has been enacted or proposed recently around the country is vaguely written to ban a large swath of literature, curriculum, historical topics, and other media in classrooms.  These laws are designed to have a chilling effect on how schools educate children and have resulted in the targeting of teachers.  One teacher in Missouri was fired for using a single worksheet addressing racial issues in an elective literature class.  A Florida teacher, with 11 years of experience, resigned after parents demanded he face “consequences” for acknowledging to his students that he was gay and married.  A limited survey conducted by Reuters found that 220 death threats have been leveled against school officials. 

The movement to censor classroom discussion is growing more extreme with proposed legislation that resembles policies implemented in authoritarian regimes.  The hearing will examine the impact these laws have on teachers and students and the threat they pose to free speech.

MEDIA:  

Seating in the hearing room is limited and as a result, credentialed media must RSVP to the Oversight Committee Democrats Press Office at oversightpress@mail.house.gov no later than 5 p.m. ET on May 18, 2022.