Democrats: Extremist bills an ‘attack on Missouri students’

Bills censor curriculum, limit academic freedom, overregulate education system

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri House Democrats on the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee voiced their opposition to punitive legislation that hurts Missouri students and works to dismantle Missouri’s public school system, because House Bills 1474 and 1995 limit academic freedom of Missouri students, strangle teachers with red tape, and threaten to dismantle Missouri’s public education system.

“Dozens of parents, students and educators from across the state will testify against these bills that directly harm the children of Missouri and tie the hands of Missouri parents who trust educators to do their jobs,” said State Rep. Paula Brown, D-Hazelwood, the ranking minority member on the committee. “Make no mistake: these bills are an attack on Missouri students. They have the right to learn in classrooms free from censorship.”

Rep. Marlene Terry, D-St. Louis, says these bills will have a disastrous impact on the ability of Missouri parents to have a full say in their child’s education, particularly parents who want certified professional educators teaching them about multi-faceted topics.

“We all agree parents have a right to know what their kids are learning in the classroom, and every teacher I know supports having parents as involved as possible in their own child’s education,” Terry said. “These bills pit parents against one another if they have alternative views, and leave educators and school districts in the lurch.”

“Our focus on education should be addressing the increasingly alarming staff shortages we’re seeing in districts across Missouri, but bills like this will only drive teachers away from our state.” State Rep. Gretchen Bangert, D-Florissant, added. “As it is with business, when we tie educators up in red tape and bureaucracy, overregulate them and disrespect the work they do for our state’s kids, excellent teachers will take their talents elsewhere.”

Educators weigh in

Former teacher State Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Kansas City, said the effects of these bills on Missouri kids would be highly detrimental to their ability to learn, understand, and formulate complex ideas — skills desperately needed in their adult lives.

“A curriculum that does not challenge students to think more deeply about math, literature, science, history or any other subject does not do its job,” Nurrenbern said. “We strive to teach children how to think, never what to think, but to do that we need to introduce increasingly complex concepts and ideas. These bills will hinder childhood development and make the kids of our state far less prepared for the real world.”

State Rep. Mark Sharp, D-Kansas City, said that both bills’ decisions to outright purge class curricula or school library content that only a few might find objectionable is the kind of government censorship one would typically see in authoritarian or dictatorial societies.

“Do we really want Missouri to join other countries like China, Russia and North Korea that are too afraid to tell people the real history of their nation?” the former teacher said. “I don’t want my daughter growing up in an America where pictures of police fire-hosing Black protestors in Birmingham are hidden away like Beijing hides pictures of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.”

State Rep. Ian Mackey, also a former classroom teacher, said verified facts taught in science and history classes could be challenged under HB 1995.

“Some people object the ages of the Earth or universe where geologists and astronomers have reached consensus. Some people even say the existence of dinosaurs is controversial,” said Mackey, D-St. Louis. “If these bills pass, we will live in a state where teachers and school districts can get sued into bankruptcy for teaching basic facts. These bills as written are absolutely Orwellian: they promise to expand rights — while, in reality, they take rights away.”