'Anti-democratic': Some teachers blast new laws targeting discussions of race in schools

Legislators across the country are attacking "critical race theory," but teachers say that the controversy lies deeper.

For middle school American history teacher Daniel Santos, discussing racial inequality is a necessary part of his lesson plan. Santos, who teaches at a public school in Houston, said that his students are inquisitive, asking him about current events like George Floyd's death and the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, for instance. He said students wanted to connect these moments to other pieces of U.S. history, such as the Jim Crow era and voter suppression efforts. But a new bill signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott that aims to restrict certain lessons on race might make these conversations "impossible" for him and his students, Santos said. "I fear that our lessons would be diluted in order to appease and acquiesce to these laws and I anticipate that many teachers are going to find it impossible to do that," Santos said. "We have a responsibility to teach the truth to our students."