South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announces legislation blocking critical race theory

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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem released legislation aimed at banning the teaching of critical race theory in her state's schools.

"Our schools should teach our children our nation’s true and honest history," Noem said in a statement Monday. "They should teach about our successes in establishing a country that is a beacon of freedom to the world and our mistakes along the way. Our children should not, however, be taught the false and divisive message that they are responsible for the shortcomings of past generations and other members of our respective races."

Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota.  (Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The Republican governor's legislation would ban a curriculum that teaches any "race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior" or teaching students to "feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin."

The bill would also ban teaching that people of any group are "inherently responsible" for "actions committed in the past" by someone who shares their characteristics.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. (Melissa Sue Gerrits)

The teaching of critical race theory has become a controversial issue across the country, with South Dakota joining 17 other states that have introduced legislation aimed at banning the practice. Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Iowa and Idaho have banned or restricted critical race theory curricula in their schools. Efforts to do the same in Mississippi and Arizona failed.

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"Some of this stuff is, I think, really toxic," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said of critical race theory curricula before the state Board of Education banned the teaching in schools earlier this year.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

"I think it’s going to cause a lot of divisions," he continued. "I think it’ll cause people to think of themselves more as a member of a particular race based on skin color, rather than based on the content of their character and based on their hard work and what they’re trying to accomplish in life."