Itâs this part of the law that teachers are having a hard time with.
teachers who choose to discuss current events or
widely debated and currently controversial issues of public policy
or social affairs shall, to the best of their ability, strive to
explore such issues from diverse and contending perspectives
without giving deference to any one perspective;
Teachers have been given rubrics as to what books can be in a library. And apparently they need to balanced, with multiple perspectives.
âJust try to remember the concepts of [House Bill] 3979,â Peddy said in the recording, referring to a new Texas law that requires teachers to present multiple perspectives when discussing âwidely debated and currently controversialâ issues. âAnd make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust,â Peddy continued, âthat you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.â
âHow do you oppose the Holocaust?â one teacher said in response.
âBelieve me,â Peddy said. âThatâs come up.â
Sure. But what schools are being told, is that books in the library need to cover multiple perspectives. There wasnât a caveat on whether it needed to be highly controversial.
Maybe schools are being told wrong. But that is where the confusion lies.