Nonprofit Mississippi News Monday’s Governor. Despite opposition from many Black legislators, civil rights groups, and educators throughout the state, Gov. Tate Reeves has signed Senate Bill 2113 into law. This legislation seeks to ban critical race theory from Mississippi’s K-12 schools and colleges. Reeves stated in a three-minute video that critical race theory is causing students to be “dragged to front of the class and… coerced into declaring themselves oppressors.” He also claimed that students are being taught to feel guilty about their skin color or that they are victims of their race. “There is no place for this kind of indoctrination within our state,” Reeves stated. Reeves repeatedly stated that critical race theory was not taught in Mississippi’s K-12 schools. Critical race theory, which is a high-level academic framework and legal framework, can be found in only one Mississippi class, Law 743 at the University of Mississippi School of Law. The bill won’t prevent UM offering Law 743. Teachers and experts in legal matters have repeatedly stated that the bill’s vague language does not refer to critical race theory. It is only in the bill’s title. Sen. Michael McClendon (R-Hernando) authored the bill. It prohibits public schools to require students to “personally affirm, adopt, and adhere… that any sexual, race, ethnicity or religion is inherently superior, inferior, or both.” However, SB 2113 still has teeth. Schools that violate the bill will lose state funding. Many educators and civil rights activists across Mississippi are waiting to see how SB2113 will be enforced across the state by education agencies, including MDE and the Institutions of Higher Learning. Jarvis Dortch is the executive director of ACLU of Mississippi. “We are most concerned about how it will affect teachers and how school districts embrace diversity, civil rights and Black history in Mississippi,” he said. “We fear that you will see actions similar to what you saw in Hinds County with the assistant principal — school districts will try to avoid litigation.” It is also likely to have a difficult to quantify impact. According to legal experts, SB 2113 will have a chilling impact on teachers, who will be afraid of the repercussions and will avoid discussing the worst aspects of Mississippi’s past. Public universities may be unable to recognize affinity groups for students from marginalized communities, like the Black Law Students Association at University of Mississippi. Teachers are concerned that the bill could have an impact on science education. One professor posted on Twitter that the bill would prohibit faculty from teaching students about racial disparities of health and disease outcomes. In a letter addressed to President Rodney Bennett last week, University of Southern Mississippi faculty warned that SB 2113 could impact accreditation at Mississippi’s research universities. The letter states that the “most serious harm” of SB 2113 will be on students. They will not have the chance to learn and grow free from legislative dictates. Three other Mississippi universities also have passed resolutions denouraging SB 2113.