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Conservative lawmakers wasted no time answering Gov. Greg Abbott鈥檚 call to enact further restrictions on how race is taught in relation to the nation鈥檚 history in public and charter school classrooms during a special session of the Texas Legislature.

State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, filed , which would go beyond House Bill 3979 that lawmakers passed in May. Like that bill, Hughes鈥� new legislation does not explicitly refer to 鈥渃ritical race theory,” an academic term Republicans in statehouses across the nation have latched onto in recent months.

Critical race theory is an academic framework that examines systemic racism in U.S. laws, policy and society, which Texas teachers say is not taught in K-12 schools.

SB 3 calls for the state education commissioner, who the governor appoints, to create a civics training program for educators that includes 鈥済uided classroom discussion of current events.鈥� It also tasks the commissioner with determining the appropriate grade-level for such discussions.

The bill strikes out provisions House Democrats added to HB 3979 by Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands 鈥� which Abbott signed into law last month 鈥� that sought to diversify the historical figures and events students learn about, including the Chicano movement; the women鈥檚 and civil rights movements; Native American history; and the history of white supremacy, including slavery, and 鈥渢he ways in which it is morally wrong.鈥�

Georgina P茅rez, a Democrat who represents the El Paso area on the State Board of Education, said SB 3 is an effort by Republican lawmakers to 鈥渃ompletely erase鈥� people of color, who look like students on the border, and women from the state鈥檚 history books.

鈥淵ou are nothing but a strikethrough鈥� to these lawmakers, P茅rez said.

鈥淐ould you be any clearer that you only want the history of white dudes鈥� taught to Texas public school students, she added, describing Hughes’ bill as an effort 鈥渢o force children to learn a version of revisionist history.鈥�

Hughes鈥� office did not respond to a request for comment on SB 3.

The bill was referred Friday to the Senate State Affairs Committee. A public hearing on it has yet to be set.

Abbott made further cracking down on critical race theory one of his , which began July 8. A special session can run up to 30 days but Abbott can call as many as he chooses during the interim. The regular session ended May 31.

In a statement last month, Toth鈥檚 office called HB 3979 鈥渙ne of the strongest prohibitions on Critical Race Theory in the country鈥� and said it 鈥減romotes harmony in the classroom by prohibiting the teaching of racial superiority or collective guilt.鈥�

The graduate-level theory is not taught at the K-12 level, said Jeffrey Shepherd, the chair of the history department at the University of Texas at El Paso.

鈥淐ritical race theory helps us understand how race is socially constructed but (also) reproduced in law and other economic, political, (and) social institutions across the United States,鈥� Shepherd said.

Spokespersons for the El Paso and Socorro Independent School Districts said their districts follow the state social studies standards, known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS, which the State Board of Education sets. The TEKS do not include critical race theory, P茅rez said.

SB 3 maintains HB 3979鈥檚 ban on teaching that 鈥渁n individual, by virtue of the individual鈥檚 race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously,鈥� or that an individual 鈥渂ears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.鈥�

It further maintains HB 3979鈥檚 language that barrs districts from compelling teachers to discuss current events and social issues.

Toth though filed a new bill Thursday, , to remove that provision from his original bill. Educators who choose to teach current events would still need to 鈥渆xplore the topic from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective.鈥� HB 178 has yet to be referred to a committee.

Legislation restricting education about racism, which comes in the wake of nationwide protests against police killings of Black Americans, is about more than banning critical race theory, Shepherd said: 鈥�(It’s) being used for a broad and somewhat vague and flexible assault on what legislators think is a threat to present day political, social, and racial and gender relations.鈥�

He was one of more than 200 educators and historians who wrote an during the regular sessions urging members to vote down HB 3979 and its companion legislation in the Texas Senate.

鈥淩emoving lessons that teach students how ideas of race and gender shaped our laws and policies will academically disadvantage students in Texas,鈥� the letter read. 鈥淭hey will not be prepared to take Advanced Placement exams for college credit. They will not have the basic foundation in US history or the analytical skills required for students to succeed in colleges and universities.鈥�

P茅rez views Abbott鈥檚 focus on critical race theory in the special session as an attempt to pander to his far-right base. The governor is up for re-election in 2022 and faces at least three primary challengers.

鈥淚f you want to continue the Texas miracle, it鈥檚 going to have to include factual, actual history,鈥� P茅rez said. 鈥淎nd with all due respect, if Gov. Abbott thinks teachers in Texas are going to take this with a spoon of sugar, he has lost his ever-loving mind.鈥�

The American Federation of Teachers, one of the country鈥檚 largest teachers unions which has chapters in EPISD and SISD, the start of Texas鈥� special session that it will defend its members who are punished for 鈥渢eaching honest history.鈥�

This article originally appeared .

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