5 Big Questions for Rep. Dan Bishop
Rep. Bishop has introduced the STOP CRT Act, which would prevent any organization from using federal funding to teach Critical Race Theory.
Rep. Dan Bishop (NC-09) spoke with Campus Reform about his efforts to defund Critical Race Theory at the federal level. He has introduced the STOP CRT Act, which would block any organization from using federal taxpayer dollars to teach or advance Critical Race Theory.
Bishop has also introduced the NO CRT Act, which would expand school choice opportunities for families whose government-assigned schools are teaching Critical Race Theory. He credits concerned parents for making progress in countering this ideology in schools. “We’ve seen moms and dads in the nation across the nation ultimately up in arms about the corrosive anti-American ethic of known sort of by the term Critical Race Theory,” he said.
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Bishop also praised Christopher Rufo of the Manhattan Institute and author James Linsday for raising awareness about what has been going on in classrooms across America. He said that the response to Critical Race Theory from conservatives was long overdue.
“We’ve waited until the eleventh hour to respond…we now have seen enormous reaction across the country, and I’m heartened that we are,” Bishop stated.
The case for his proposed legislation, he said, is good stewardship of federal tax dollars.
“If any party that receives federal funding wants to engage in advancing [Critical Race Theory], this poisonous division of Americans by race and gender frankly, and every other way…federal funds should not be used to do that. That’s what the STOP CRT Act does,” he said.
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A federal court in Bishop’s home state of North Carolina recently ruled that the University of North Carolina may continue to use race as a factor in admissions.
“I’m disappointed in the result of that. I think UNC should abandon race as a means of determining admissions,” Bishop said.
In the congressman’s words, the consideration of race in college admissions “punishes extra effort and ability as demonstrated in prior school work.”
Bishop gave kudos to students and faculty on college campuses who speak out in support of free inquiry. “I think the bravest people in the world are folks who have the nerve to step forward on campus and be a conservative or be anybody who doesn’t knuckle under to the new regime,” he said.
Follow the interviewer on Twitter: @AngelaLMorabito
