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Soon, such punishment may be illegal. The Massachusetts House on Thursday is expected to vote on legislation that would ban discrimination on the basis of a person's natural hairstyle, including protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, or twists. It would also bar schools from creating any policy that "impairs or prohibits" natural hairstyles.

The bill, first filed by Representative Steven Ultrino, a Malden Democrat, was inspired by the Cooks' experience, and if adopted, would make Massachusetts the 15th state to embrace language commonly referred to as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair or CROWN Act.

The vote comes the same week the Biden administration said it supports the federal CROWN Act, which may soon see action in the US House. "The president believes that no person should be denied the ability to obtain a job, succeed in school or the workplace, secure housing, or otherwise exercise their rights based on a hair texture or hairstyle," the administration said in a statement.

Such legislation is the product of a relatively new movement addressing what advocates say has been a systemic, if until recently underdiscussed, form of racism. Before 2019, no state had specific language banning race-based hair discrimination, which tends to disproportionately affect Black women and men.

"These are things we discussed in silos: These are dinner conversations. You have them in barbershops and beauty salons. But who were you going to go tell? There was no legal recourse," said Adjoa B. Asamoah, the legislative strategist for the CROWN Coalition, which began in 2018 and has advocated for the legislation around the country, including in Massachusetts.

"We're really talking about improving work climate and culture," she said. "We're talking about real inclusion and real diversity."

Last year alone, seven states, including Connecticut, passed similar bills, according to Ultrino's office. The US House is also expected to debate a federal version of the legislation on Friday, said Representative Ayanna Pressley, one of the bill's cosponsors.

"From personnel handbooks to school dress code policies, Afros, locks, twists - they have been classified as proxies for anti-Black racism," said Pressley, who wore Senegalese twists before she lost her hair to alopecia. "There's all sorts of stigma, there's all sort of discriminatory thoughts about our hair being unclean. It's time to nip that in the bud."

It's painfully clear to many in Massachusetts. State Senator Lydia Edwards, an East Boston Democrat and the chamber's only Black member, said she didn't wear her hair naturally until she was in her 30s and working in legal services. Before that, while working in corporate settings, she would pour money into chemically straightening her hair or hair weaves.

Edwards said she personally didn't face discrimination over hair, but suggests that's "because I was performing."

"This bill isn't just pro-hair. It's acknowledging hairstyle-based policies . . . have nothing to do with your capacity as a student or a worker," Edwards said.

Lezlie Braxton Campbell, a Springfield advocate who last year ran for city council, said several people asked him at the onset of his campaign if he was going to cut the locks he had started wearing in recent years. Campbell, who is Black, said the suggestion left him "agitated."

"People shouldn't have to fear wearing a natural hairstyle because of how their workplace or particular spaces may react," he said. "It's crazy that we have to put into law that you can't discriminate against somebody because of their hair. . . . But it's not a bill that's for show. It's a real issue."

Ultrino said that after he filed his bill, a mother on the North Shore contacted his office, reporting that her teenage son, who wore his hair in an Afro, had been told to wear a hairnet at his job as a cashier at a local supermarket. He was the only one told he had to, the woman told him.

"I'm on the phone [saying], 'Is this a joke?' I couldn't believe it," said Ultrino.

Ultrino, who's cosponsoring this session's legislation with Representative Chynah Tyler of Boston, is admittedly somewhat of an unlikely champion for the issue. "I'm white. And I lost my hair in college," he said.

But he said he was stunned by the discrimination the Cooks faced, and the gaps in the law it highlighted. "It's a justice issue," he said.

There's little doubt the legislation will advance Thursday in the House, which first passed a version of the bill in July 2020 without a roll call vote before it stalled in the Senate. It also has the support of Speaker Ronald Mariano, a former teacher who said prohibiting such policies in schools is the right decision.

"Bans on natural hairstyles are racist," the Quincy Democrat said Tuesday.

Proponents in the Senate say they too see new momentum behind it. Senator Adam Gomez, a Springfield Democrat who filed the bill with Senator Sal N. DiDomenico, said there are a range of "people of color conversations" - from a bill that would allow people without legal immigration status to get driver's licenses to the CROWN Act - that he views as being "on the 10-yard line and we're trying to get across the finish line."

For some, the bill's passage in Massachusetts can't come soon enough. While the Cooks' experience has served as inspiration for the bill here, their father, Aaron, submitted testimony on similar legislation in Maryland, where he grew up. Lawmakers there passed their own version in 2020.

To see other states move faster than Massachusetts is a small source of frustration - and surprise - for the Cook family. "We're a liberal state. This should have been passed years before," said Colleen Cook, the twins' mother.

But there is also hope the wait won't be much longer.

"It would feel like a full-circle moment because we have been working so hard to have this passed in general," Mya Cook said. "To have it pass in our own backyard, that would be amazing."

Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattpstout.

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Mass. lawmakers are moving to make hair discrimination illegal - The Boston Globe

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The House on Thursday will vote on legislation that would ban discrimination on the basis of a person's natural hairstyle, including protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, or twists. It would also bar schools from creating any policy that "impairs or prohibits" natural hairstyles.

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#PassTheCROWN - Email Your Senator — The Official CROWN Act

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Ask your U.S. Legislator to support the federal bill and end race-based hair discrimination nationwide!

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We Need Diverse Books advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people.

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A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, WNDB aims to create a world where every reader can find themselves in the pages of a book. To reach this goal, we've created programs to mentor diverse writers and illustrators, support diverse publishing professionals, and provide books to classrooms nationwide.

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Use MyLegislature to follow bills, hearings, and legislators that interest you.

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Hair Love | Oscar®-Winning Short Film (Full) | Sony Pictures Animation

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A video read aloud of the picture by Something Happened in our Town: A Child's Story about Racial Injustice

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Animation Series: Something Happened In Our Town (#AtlantisBuild)

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Map - Efforts to restrict teaching racism and bias have multiplied across the U.S.

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Map - Efforts to restrict teaching racism and bias have multiplied across the U.S.

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This map shows the states that have adopted or introduced laws or policies to restrict teaching about race and racism.

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Officials nationwide have raced to enact new laws and introduce new policies meant to shape how students discuss the nation's past - and its present. Many of these efforts have attempted to ban critical race theory, an academic framework that examines how policies and the law perpetuate systemic racism.

In some states, lawmakers have tried to restrict antiracism training or the teaching of what they call "divisive concepts." But on the opposite end, other states are adding ethnic studies courses or incorporating more about people of color into their learning standards.

The map you see here depicts the depth and breadth of these ongoing efforts to both restrict and expand how a core aspect of American life is taught in our classrooms. So far, at least 36 states have adopted or introduced laws or policies that restrict teaching about race and racism. With 2022 state legislative sessions underway, new legislation is in the pipeline.

Our map also documents actions taken by state boards of education and executive branches of state governments. In states that haven't taken such concrete steps, we have spotlighted comments from public officials and other developments to give readers a sense of how the debate is playing out.

The impact of these discussions on classrooms is being felt. This map provides a snapshot of this turning point in American history and education. We've also created a timeline of key events and documents that trace the critical race theory backlash from its beginnings during the administration of President Donald Trump.

Chalkbeat is committed to continued coverage of these actions. If you have information about bills, policies, or anything else relevant from your state or hometown, please email us at tips@chalkbeat.org.
Reporting by Cathryn Stout and graphics by Thomas Wilburn.

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CRT MAP: Critical race theory legislation and schools

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Look up the critical race theory legislation in your state with this map we created to track efforts to restrict - and expand - teaching about race and bias in schools.

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This video explains what hair discrimination is, how it impacts Black Americans, and what people are doing to change it.

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A federal version of the CROWN Act passed the House of Representatives last fall, but stalled in the Senate.

Greene says part of the challenge is getting others to see the realities of hair discrimination.

What do you say to people who say this is just hair, just like grooming and dress codes; hair discrimination doesn't really exist because you have to have different standards for different parts of our society?

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How hair discrimination impacts Black Americans in their personal lives and the workplace

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Last month, Connecticut became one of a growing number of states to make race-based hair discrimination illegal. Yamiche Alcindor reports on how Black Americans often face discrimination because of the way they wear their hair, especially in school and at work.

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Massachusetts School Punished Black Teens For Hair Extensions

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School Punished Black Teens For Hair Extensions

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A Time for Kids article shares the story of an 8 Year Old who was suspended for his locs, and what people are doing to prevent hair discimination.

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Eight-year-old Jonathan Brown, from Texas, rocks his dreadlocks proudly. It's a style he was looking forward to letting grow long. But in December 2019, he was sent home from school with a note from the assistant principal. It said Jonathan had to have his hair cut to comply with the school dress code. His mom, Tiffany Brown, refused to cut it. "On the way home, Jonathan cried," she told TIME for Kids.

Many schools have dress codes. The policies are supposed to help keep students focused on learning. Some include rules about hair. A policy might prohibit boys from wearing their hair long. This would prevent styles such as afros and dreadlocks. Some policies ban braids, twists, and other styles associated with Black culture.

Jonathan's story isn't the only one of its kind. In January, Texas teen DeAndre Arnold was told he needed to cut his dreadlocks to go to his graduation. In 2017, twins Mya and Deanna Cook were given detentions at their Massachusetts school because their hair extensions violated school code.

Esi Eggleston Bracey sees these types of rules as hair discrimination × discrimination ARIEL SKELLEY-GETTY IMAGES unfairly treating one group of people differently from another group (noun) When a company hires new employees, discrimination is illegal. . She helped found the CROWN Coalition in order to end them. CROWN stands for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.

Act Now

Tiffany took the issue up with the school board, and after about six months, Jonathan's school changed the dress code in his favor. But the CROWN Coalition hopes to prevent other students from having to go through that process. That's why it's championing × champion SDI PRODUCTIONS/GETTY IMAGES to fight or speak up for (verb) She champions the environment by teaching people about recycling. the CROWN Act. If passed, the act will prevent public schools, charter schools, and workplaces from discriminating against black people for wearing their hair in "natural styles."

Growing up, Bracey says she often felt like her own natural hair texture wasn't "good enough." She wants kids today to feel pride in their hair. "There have been far too many incidents of children being sent home, suspended, or expelled from school because of their textured hairstyles," Bracey says.

The CROWN Act has already been passed in five states. Efforts are also being made to pass the bill on a national level.

"I think it's empowering," Tiffany Brown says. "For so many people of different cultural backgrounds, hair is a symbol of strength, power, and individuality. . . . The CROWN Act is now saying 'No longer will we be forced to not be who we are, and our hair is included.'"

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Eight-year-old Jonathan Brown, from Texas, rocks his dreadlocks proudly. It's a style he was looking forward to letting grow long. But in December 2019, he was sent home from school with a note from the assistant principal. It said Jonathan...

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This video gives examples how Black and Brown kids have been unfairly punished.

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The School to Prison Pipeline Stops With You

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This video shows how teachers' unconscious bias (based on stereotypes) leads them to unfairly punish Black and Brown children.

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The Suspended for What? Campaign from DoSomething.org challenged school suspensions.

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Share stories of unfair school punishment and harsh discipline.

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Dignity in Schools is working to change the way that schools punish children. They fight for the right of every young person to a quality education and to be treated with dignity

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Our Mission

The DSC challenges the systemic problem of pushout in our nation's schools and works to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. As a national coalition, the Dignity in Schools Campaign builds power amongst parents, youth, organizers, advocates and educators to transform their own communities, support alternatives to a culture of zero-tolerance, punishment, criminalization and the dismantling of public schools, and fight racism and all forms of oppression. We bring together our members through direct action organizing, public policy advocacy and leadership development to fight for the human right of every young person to a quality education and to be treated with dignity.
Our History
The DSC started in 2006 when local grassroots and advocacy groups fighting to end school pushout came together to share information and strategies and build a common framework for dignity and human rights in our schools. In 2009, we held our first national conference, released the National Resolution for Ending School Pushout, and shared the first draft of a Model School Code based on fundamental human rights principles. In 2010 we held our first annual National Week of Action and our first Days at the Capitol, engaging groups around the country in collective advocacy to impact federal law and policy. In 2011, as our campaign continued to grow, we began a process to develop our membership structures to secure grassroots leadership in the coalition. In 2012 the DSC and the Opportunity to Learn Campaign launched a Moratorium on out-of-school suspensions and the DSC published the Model Code on Education and Dignity. Some other highlights of the last few years include the joint guidance released by the Departments of Education and Justice in 2014 on ending racial disparities in school discipline, and our release of Accountability Guidelines on School Pushout in Charter Schools in 2015 and Counselors Not Cops: Ending the Regular Presence of Law Enforcement in School in 2016.

The DSC has now grown into a multi-stakeholder coalition made up of youth, parents, educators, grassroots groups, and policy and legal advocacy groups, which strives to ensure that those most affected by the education system and school pushout are at the center of our work and leadership structures. DSC's Membership is structured to create a space for all to both contribute to the work and to benefit from the collective advancements of the coalition and local successes of its members.

Our Vision

We envision a public school system that values students, parents and communities as decision-makers with a fundamental human right to shape their education. In this educational system, schools are safe, healthy and nurturing environments where every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential. Schools work towards preventing trauma, repairing harm and promoting healing, and reject a culture of punishment, and criminalization. Schools provide equitable resources, adopt culturally relevant curricula, and address racism and all forms of oppression. In this educational system, education is a human right. Our schools value the humanity and dignity of all people that is essential for students to succeed. As we build a movement to realize this vision, we see our work as connected to broader movements for social justice and human rights in the United States and globally.

Our Theory of Change

As part of our strategic planning process in 2015, we developed our theory of change that includes our underlying beliefs, our strategies for change, and our long-terms goals to end school pushout and dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. You can view our theory of change here.

What is School Pushout?

School pushout refers to the numerous and systemic factors that prevent or discourage young people from remaining on track to complete their education and has severe and lasting consequences for students, parents, schools, and communities. These factors include, among others, the failure to provide essential components of a high quality education, lack of stakeholder participation in decision-making, over-reliance on zero-tolerance practices and punitive measures such as suspensions and expulsions, over-reliance on law enforcement tactics and ceding of disciplinary authority to law enforcement personnel, and a history of systemic racism and inequality. These factors have an impact on all students, but have a disproportionate impact on historically disenfranchised youth.

What We Do

Advocate for federal policy change to promote alternatives to zero-tolerance discipline, especially through the state-level implementation of ESSA (the Every Student Succeeds Act) and other federal initiatives.

Support state and local campaigns by member groups to end pushout and implement positive approaches to school climate and discipline, such as positive behavior supports, restorative practices, conflict resolution and mediation programs.

Collectively develop model school policies for school districts and legislators that guarantee fundamental human rights standards for quality education, participation, dignity and freedom from discrimination.

Share information on solutions to pushout and strategies for change through our website, tele-conferences, webinars, and national meetings.

Helpful Definitions:

Pushout refers to the numerous and systemic factors that prevent or discourage young people from remaining on track to complete their education and has severe and lasting consequences for students, parents, schools, and communities. These factors include, among others, the failure to provide essential components of a high quality education, lack of stakeholder participation in decision-making, over-reliance on zero-tolerance practices and punitive measures such as suspensions and expulsions, over-reliance on law enforcement tactics and ceding of disciplinary authority to law enforcement personnel, and a history of systemic racism and inequality. These factors have an impact on all students, but have a disproportionate impact on historically disenfranchised youth.

A zero tolerance discipline policy is a school discipline policy or practice that results in an automatic disciplinary consequence such as in-school or out-of-school suspension, expulsion, or involuntary school transfer for any student who commits one or more listed offenses. A school discipline policy may be a zero tolerance policy even if administrators have some discretion to modify the consequence on a case-by-case basis.

Criminalization is the labeling of an individual or group, his or her activities, culture and/or identity as deviant, dangerous and undesirable and the corresponding suppression of that individual or group by authorities. Criminalized people and populations do not need to engage in illegal or harmful behavior to be treated as criminals but are regularly targeted for surveillance, police stops, frisks and questioning, and school suspension and expulsion. Criminalization often extends beyond police and court systems to impact the larger society's perception and treatment of the individual or group. (Adapted from Youth Justice Coalition definition)

Human rights are necessary for people to live life in freedom, dignity and equality, and to have their basic needs met. Human rights apply to every person equally no matter where they come from simply because they are human beings. The U.S. civil rights movement is part of a human rights movement to fight for civil rights to equality and freedom from discrimination, as well as economic and social rights to education, work, health and housing. (Adapted from NESRI and CADRE definition)

A social movement is the mass mobilization and self-organization of powerless people in order to gain or secure their rights. It is composed of defiant local mobilizations connected to other local movements with similar aims by formal and informal networks of information and support. It surmounts the expectations, plans and instructions of formal leadership and existing organizations by acting spontaneously, taking risks, and behaving unpredictably. (Social Justice Leadership definition)

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Our Mission The DSC challenges the systemic problem of pushout in our nation's schools and works to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. As a national coalition, the Dignity in Schools Campaign builds power amongst parents, youth, organizers, advocates and educators to transform their own communities, support alternatives to a culture of zero-tolerance, punishment, criminalization and the dismantling of public schools, and fight racism and all forms of oppression.

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Why Black Lives Matter NOW | Ellis Fearon | TEDxYouth@AEL

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A Kids News show reports on different ideas about how to solve police brutality

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What does ‘defund the police’ mean? | CBC Kids News

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This Boston Globe article shares the experience of several Black students from Arlington.

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In Arlington, Black voices challenge a white suburban school district to do better - The Boston Globe

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A national uprising against racism has reinvigorated criticism of persistent racial inequalities in education, in mostly-white suburbs as well as more diverse cities.

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Article and Link to a video of Ruby Bridges' speech

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Ruby Bridges is speaking out on efforts to ban books - including her own.

The civil rights activist testified before Congress on Thursday in a hearing on "book bans and academic censorship." Last year, parents in Tennessee reportedly objected to teaching a book by Bridges, who at six years old became the first Black child to integrate a segregated school in New Orleans.

Bridges testified that when she heard about efforts like these, she initially didn't respond because it "didn't deserve more attention." But she said that "as these bans have somehow gained even more momentum," she decided to speak out.

"My books are written to bring people together," she said. "Why would they be banned? But the real question is, why are we banning any books at all? Surely we are better than this. We are the United States of America with freedom of speech."

Bridges went on to say her books highlight Americans who were "seeking the best version of our country," and they reflect "our shared history: good, bad, and ugly." After speaking about becoming "the poster child for the civil rights movement," she also told Congress that "rarely do children of color of immigrants see themselves" in textbooks taught in schools.

"If we are going to have a conversation about banning books, then I say that conversation is long overdue," she said. "Let's have it. But it must include all books. If we are to ban books for being too truthful, then surely we must ban those books that distort or omit the truth."

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) opened the hearing by stressing the importance of learning to "tolerate the speech you abhor, as well as the speech you agree with," adding, "If we cancel or censor everything that people find offensive, nothing will be left."

Watch Bridges' full remarks below.

"The real question is, why are we banning books at all? Surely, we are better than this. We are the United States of America."-Ruby Bridges speaking at today's hearing on #bannedbooks and academic censorhip pic.twitter.com/TvoxiTb4bR
- Oversight Committee (@OversightDems) April 7, 2022

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Ruby Bridges speaks out on book bans: 'Surely we are better than this'

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Ruby Bridges is speaking out on efforts to ban books - including her own. The civil rights activist testified before Congress on Thursday in a hearing on "book bans and academic censorship." Last year, parents in Tennessee reportedly objected to teaching a book by Bridges, who at six years old became the first Black child to integrate a segregated school in New Orleans.

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Jerry Craft and other authors speak out on having their books challenged.

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Book bans in schools are catching fire. Black authors say uproar isn’t about students.

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Parents and patrons initiate more than half of all book challenges in the U.S., compared to 1 percent from students, the American Library Association reported.

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Unite Against Book Bans is a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship. Check out their action toolkit for defending the right to read.

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We should trust individuals to make their own decisions. Raise your voice for everyone’s freedom to read. #UniteAgainstBookBans

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Learn about this annual event celebrating the freedom to read.

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Banned Books Week is an annual event that highlights the value of free and open access to information.

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Pennsylvania students fight back against anti-racism books being banned from school libraries

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Pennsylvania students fight back against anti-racism books being banned from school libraries

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This video focuses on a group of high school students who successfully fought a book ban in their community.

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Pennsylvania students fight back against anti-racism books being banned from school libraries

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“We hope that this was a lesson for this community and leadership: that injustice cannot and will not be tolerated any longer.”

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Not getting into it: How new "critical race theory laws" are cutting short classroom conversations

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Not getting into it: How new "critical race theory laws" are cutting short classroom conversations

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Teachers are reluctant to talk with students about racism.

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Melanie Hester could see her fifth graders were confused.

A history lesson she was teaching about Native Americans asked the students to think about how they could honor the cultural history of the land where the United States now stands. "Where are the Native Americans now?" her students wanted to know.

In the past, the Iowa City teacher would tell her class more about why Indian reservations were established, discuss the term genocide, and talk about what Native culture looks like today. This time, she held back. On her mind was a new Iowa law that restricts how schools can teach about topics like systemic racism and white privilege.

"That's where I'm like, well, I'm not really sure how to answer that," Hester said. "I kind of stuck to the lesson and if they didn't understand, I just kept moving forward - which is not best practice."

Across the country, new laws targeting critical race theory are influencing the small but pivotal decisions educators like Hester make every day: how to answer a student's question, what articles to read as a class, how to prepare for a lesson.

Plenty of teachers say they haven't changed their approach, and there is little evidence that these laws have led to wholesale curriculum overhauls. But in several states with new legislation, teachers say the ambiguity of the laws, plus new scrutiny from parents and administrators, are togetherchipping away at discussions of racism and inequality.

"A lot of that chilling won't happen as overtly as cancelled courses," said Luke Amphlett, a high school social studies teacher in San Antonio. "The real chilling effect is something that's so much harder to measure because it's those daily decisions made by educators in the classroom."

Eight states now have laws restricting how schools can teach about racism and sexism, though they vary widely. All were passed in the wake of the protests for racial justice that defined 2020 - a year that also saw a range of institutions acknowledge the ways they have been shaped by racism.

Many school districts added anti-racism trainings, promised to review curriculum materials, or hosted class conversations about discrimination and justice.

Jonathan Kirn / Getty Images

Backlash arrived in the months that followed. Critics contend that many schools were overstating the importance of race and racism in lessons, distorting American history, requiring unproven or divisive training sessions, and making white students feel uncomfortable. "Critical race theory" became their catch-all term, and the new laws target the concept in different ways.

Iowa's law says teachers can't describe the U.S. or the state as "systemically racist or sexist," though schools can teach about racist or sexist policies. In Texas, teachers who discuss a "widely debated and currently controversial issue" must do so "objectively and in a manner free from political bias." And in Tennessee, the law bans 14 concepts, including the idea that individuals should feel "discomfort, guilt, or anguish" because of their race. The stakes are high: Tennessee teachers who cross the line could lose their teaching licenses, and school systems that look the other way risk losing some state funding.

Exactly how to avoid running afoul of the laws remains fuzzy to many educators, though, in part because they've been provided with little to no information from states about how the laws apply to specific teaching situations.

Tennessee officials have issued no written guidance about what is and isn't allowed in class beyond the law's list of banned concepts. Iowa officials did issue guidance, but it left educators with enough questions that the state's largest teachers union has hosted several packed trainings to fill in the gaps.

In Texas, emails obtained by Chalkbeat show that the state is providing little in response to questions from educators, even as districts face local challenges to curriculum materials. (The Texas Education Agency did not respond to requests for comment.)

That uncertainty has left teachers and others who work in schools to freelance in a fraught climate.

Joanna Estrada, a library assistant in Donna, Texas faced a split-second decision recently while tutoring three elementary school students. They were reading a book about the women's suffrage movement, and the two girls were perturbed to learn that women weren't always allowed to vote. The boy in the group, who is Hispanic, remarked that he would have been allowed to vote. Estrada, though, pointed out that at one time the vote was only granted to white men. The students wanted to know more details.

"That's where I was like - I didn't want to go too much into it," she said.

Then they turned to the next story, which was about placing Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. The students wanted to know more about slavery and the Underground Railroad.

"I was hesitant to say something," Estrada said. "I didn't want to get in trouble."

Talking about slavery is not prohibited by the Texas law, and its architects have insisted that the new laws would not limit such discussions. "I defy anyone to find one word of this bill that says we don't teach the ugly parts of our history," Texas Sen. Bryan Hughes said in August.

But the bill does ban the teaching that "slavery and racism are anything other than deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to the authentic founding principles of the United States." That, alongside the vague requirement for objectivity, has steered teachers away from frank discussions of the past in ways that lawmakers claimed would not happen.

"The bills' vague and sweeping language means that they will be applied broadly and arbitrarily," warned a recent report from PEN America, a free speech advocacy group, and could cast a "chilling effect over how educators and educational institutions discharge their primary obligations."

Estrada's experience is not isolated. In Des Moines, Iowa, Stacy Schmidt recently found herself trying to avoid the terms "systemic racism" or "systemic sexism" while teaching a lesson about the Gilded Age. When students asked why the financiers of the time period were all white men, Schmidt redirected a question back to them - "Let's talk about that, why do you think?"

Other times, Schmidt has described a law's discriminatory effect, or opted for terms like "structural inequality." But there is something lost with those workarounds.

"If we don't call the thing what it is, we lose the impact of being able to directly pinpoint - and then as a result, challenge - the structures that reinforce systemic racism and systemic sexism," Schmidt said.

Andy Cross / The Denver Post via Getty Images

In some cases, the passage of these laws has encouraged parents to complain to school boards about conversations happening in their child's classroom. School libraries are seeing a rise in book challenges this year, especially around texts written by authors of color or that deal with themes of race and identity.

This tense climate has left some teachers of color feeling especially vulnerable. That's because they frequently get tapped to lead conversations about race and racism, and they often refer to their own lived experiences to help students make connections.

Hester, for example, fielded questions about her race from students in Iowa City whenever she wore her long hair down. Hester would turn that into a teachable moment by telling them about her background - she has Black and white parents and identifies as Black - and how the one-drop rule was used to classify enslaved people. Now, she worries that kind of discussion could make her a target for parent complaints.

"These natural conversations that normally occur in my class full of diverse students, they're very surface-level now," she said.

In some cases, the limits on teachers have put students of color on the spot.

In Iowa, Ames High School junior Theo Muhammad has a teacher who calls on him to explain concepts when discussion turns to racial inequity, or elaborate when she feels like she can't go into more detail.

"I've talked about white privilege," said Muhammad, who is a leader in the high school's Students Advocating for Civil Rights in Education club. "She'll not say it, and then I can say it."

Students say that can feel like a burden, especially when the requests are directed at students of color.

"It puts so much more pressure on students to talk about it," said Kenaiya James, an Ames High senior who is also a leader in the club. The hesitation she's seen from her teachers this year has prompted her to change up her plans for the Black history month event she's coordinating in February. She's going to rely more on students, instead. "But then that also puts more pressure on students having to educate their teachers," James said.

Still, a number of other educators have decided not to make any changes in response to the new laws. Skikila Smith, who teaches literature at a high school in Knoxville, Tennessee, says she can't teach the story of racial injustice in "To Kill a Mockingbird" without addressing her students' questions about George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and other Black Americans killed by police or vigilantes in recent years.

"If a student asks, I'm not going to shy away from answering," said Smith, who is Black, like most of her students. "I'm not going to lie when they start making connections and asking why people don't believe a Black person over the lies of someone who does not look like them. My students are not dumb."

This summer, Smith wrote Gov. Bill Lee to ask how she's supposed to comply without abdicating her responsibility to her students. Smith said she never heard back, nor has she received a list of prohibited topics from her district. (After publication, a spokesperson for the governor said his office listens to constituents and the state education department is in touch with schools and educators.)

For now, Smith has decided to teach her students the same way she did before the law was enacted.

"If this is civil disobedience, then come and get me," she said. "I will not deny my students the truth."

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Critical race theory laws are cutting short classroom conversations

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Melanie Hester could see her fifth graders were confused. A history lesson she was teaching about Native Americans asked the students to think about how they could honor the cultural history of the land where the United States now stands. "Where are the Native Americans now?" her students wanted to know.

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Sarasota County Schools removes Black Lives Matter story from 5th Grade curriculum

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Sarasota County Schools removes Black Lives Matter story from 5th Grade curriculum

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A 2 minute video and article show how Florida schools are changing their curriculum based on a new state law.

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Sarasota County Schools removes Black Lives Matter story from 5th Grade curriculum, citing Critical Race Theory

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A letter said the narrative was removed from a “vocabulary practice text” because it “contained content that may be controversial and in conflict with FDOE.”

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A 6 minute video segment from ABC News reports on the ongoing debate about how teachers should teach American history.

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Similar Republican-led bills have been pushed in 41 states.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a law Monday banning "critical race theory" and limiting education on race in schools.

Senate Bill 2113, "Critical Race Theory; Prohibit," does not mention critical race theory by name except for in its title.

Critical race theory is a discipline taught in higher education that analyzes how racism has shaped U.S. laws and how those laws continue to impact the lives of non-white people.

The bill says that no public educational institution shall teach "that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or inferior; or that individuals should be adversely treated on the basis of their sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin."

Critical race theory experts have told ABC News that the discipline has been distorted by legislators to appear discriminatory in its focus on systemic racism.

In a video announcing the signing of the bill, Reeves said that students are being taught progressive ideals that are against "the principles of America's founding."

"Mississippi is taking another step toward ensuring our kids receive the unbiased and impartial education they need to reach their full potential as individuals, not as liberal operatives," Reeves said in the video.

Opponents of the bill say that the language in the bill is too vague and it could censor important lessons on the country and state's history of racial oppression.

In January, all of the legislature's Black Democratic state senators refused to vote on the bill and walked out in protest following fierce debate over the legislation.

"The whole situation of it is based on the founding of this country and some of the precepts that we, as a country, implicitly or explicitly accepted - chief among which we justified slavery because powers that be judged Black people to be racially inferior," Democratic state Sen. John Horhn said during the January debate.

He added, "A lot of our laws, a lot of our systems, a lot of our customs, a lot of our practices have been impacted by that.″

Supporters of the bill say their constituents don't want this theory taught to their children.

"Systematic racism should not be taught to our children," the bill's sponsor, Republican state Sen. Michael McLendon, said during debate on the bill.

Reeves claimed that some students are made to feel guilty or victimized about their race through lessons under the "critical race theory" label.

The effort by Republican lawmakers to ban certain lessons on race has spread nationwide -- with bills touting almost identical language being introduced in at least 41 states.

Governors in at least 15 of those states have signed bans into law or have taken executive action on the issue, including in Florida, Idaho, Montana, Iowa, New Hampshire, Tennessee and Virginia.

However, several of these efforts have failed, including in Indiana, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Maine and Rhode Island.

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Anti-critical race theory bill signed into law by Mississippi governor

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Similar Republican-led bills have been pushed in 41 states. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a law Monday banning "critical race theory" and limiting education on race in schools. Senate Bill 2113, "Critical Race Theory; Prohibit," does not mention critical race theory by name except for in its title.

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This animated video explains what ethnic studies is and responds to some critiques of ethnic studies.

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A teacher explains what ethnic studies is, why he believes it is important, and the history of teaching ethnic studies.

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History Class With Michael Ep. 6 (History of Ethnic Studies)