Georgia Association of Historians' opposition to
Georgia's Protect Students First Act
June 22, 2022
The Executive Board of the Georgia Association of Historians opposes the Protect Students First Act because we believe this law is unnecessary and damaging to the state of Georgia. We urge the Georgia legislature to repeal it.
The Protect Students First Act directly undermines the teaching of U.S. history in Georgia classrooms and weakens our future as we prevent Georgia students from learning vital historical information. This law may ban the teaching of divisive concepts, including, but not limited to, race, racism, and slavery. However, its more significant impact will be to prevent our students from developing critical thinking skills, analyzing complex issues, gathering information from all prospective sources, and making balanced, informed decisions.
We stand with the American Historical Association (AHA), the Organization of American Historians (OAH), the Society of Georgia Archivists (SGA), the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE), and the Georgia Library Media Association (GLMA) in opposing a law that will criminalize the teaching of a truthful and honest history of the United States.
This law is a direct attack on the vital work done by history and social studies educators in Georgia. We concur with the organizations mentioned above that this bill will have a chilling effect on educators. They will think twice before teaching about the history of slavery and discrimination, an essential part of American history. As a result, Georgia students will fail to learn that slavery and racism played a crucial role in shaping American history and institutions.
The passage of this legislation by the Governor and the General Assembly will stifle intellectual freedom by retracting free speech protections for teachers and students, leaving them vulnerable to potential censorship or retribution by school administrators. Moreover, these laws have essentially codified censorship in opposition to the state's teaching standards.
How can anyone reasonably be expected to "require advanced effort, decision-making, and critical and creative thinking" (Georgia School Performance Standards, Instruction Standard 2) under the conditions brought forward by this legislation?
The history of Georgia and the United States can be uncomfortable, particularly regarding race and racism. However, this history must be taught and learned for Georgians to live up to their state motto of "Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation" and strive for a future free from folly, injustice, and extremism.
This corrosive legislation and policies that interpose political haymaking between students and their teachers have already caused an exodus of teachers to abandon the profession. As policies related to the Protect Students First Act (and its antecedents, SB 226, HB 1084, and HB 1178) are enshrined, even more, will give up. Vigorous, lively classroom spaces, where teachers have traditionally exercised their professional judgment and students have been encouraged to be inquisitive, have significantly declined.
These censorship laws threaten scholarly integrity and erode Georgia's education reputation, violate the civil liberties of students and teachers in the state, and they fundamentally devalue the discipline of history in the process. Furthermore, the pressure to craft these laws has been fueled by fringe disinformation campaigns intended to subvert public dialogue and eviscerate cultural norms with inflammatory and sometimes violent rhetoric.
We need to be able to gather facts unfettered by partisan roadblocks to make informed decisions about the issues that impact our lives. The Georgia Association of Historians stands opposed to limiting the teaching of uncomfortable truths. Such efforts have promoted bigotry and ignorance and will only weaken our public fabric.
* * *
The Georgia Association of Historians was organized in 1973 as a statewide professional organization for the study of history. The purpose of the organization is to strengthen the historical profession and to enhance the professional lives of historians in Georgia by any of all of the following: holding meetings, conferences, seminars, or symposia concerned with historical topics; encouraging and promoting historical research, preservation, record keeping, and publication; publishing journals or magazines devoted to history; encouraging and promoting high standards in the teaching of history; sponsoring the appearance in Georgia of outstanding historians; recognizing excellence in historical research and publication, in service to the profession, and in the teaching of history by appropriate awards or prizes; encouraging and promoting public history; fostering professional and social communication among historians; encouraging and promoting historians in training; engaging in other appropriate activities which are in keeping with the purpose of the association.
We encourage people to contact their local legislators directly and state that, as students, educators, and parents, we oppose these attempts at censorship and these restrictions on learning. Contact information for current members of the Georgia Senate Education & Youth and House Education committees is available here.
Andrew Goss
President, Georgia Association of Historians
Professor of History
Augusta University
Summerville Campus, Allgood Hall E222
1120 15th Street
Augusta, GA 30912
T 706-737-1709 | F 706-729-2177
[email protected]
The Executive Board of the Georgia Association of Historians opposes the Protect Students First Act because we believe this law is unnecessary and damaging to the state of Georgia. We urge the Georgia legislature to repeal it.
The Protect Students First Act directly undermines the teaching of U.S. history in Georgia classrooms and weakens our future as we prevent Georgia students from learning vital historical information. This law may ban the teaching of divisive concepts, including, but not limited to, race, racism, and slavery. However, its more significant impact will be to prevent our students from developing critical thinking skills, analyzing complex issues, gathering information from all prospective sources, and making balanced, informed decisions.
We stand with the American Historical Association (AHA), the Organization of American Historians (OAH), the Society of Georgia Archivists (SGA), the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE), and the Georgia Library Media Association (GLMA) in opposing a law that will criminalize the teaching of a truthful and honest history of the United States.
This law is a direct attack on the vital work done by history and social studies educators in Georgia. We concur with the organizations mentioned above that this bill will have a chilling effect on educators. They will think twice before teaching about the history of slavery and discrimination, an essential part of American history. As a result, Georgia students will fail to learn that slavery and racism played a crucial role in shaping American history and institutions.
The passage of this legislation by the Governor and the General Assembly will stifle intellectual freedom by retracting free speech protections for teachers and students, leaving them vulnerable to potential censorship or retribution by school administrators. Moreover, these laws have essentially codified censorship in opposition to the state's teaching standards.
How can anyone reasonably be expected to "require advanced effort, decision-making, and critical and creative thinking" (Georgia School Performance Standards, Instruction Standard 2) under the conditions brought forward by this legislation?
The history of Georgia and the United States can be uncomfortable, particularly regarding race and racism. However, this history must be taught and learned for Georgians to live up to their state motto of "Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation" and strive for a future free from folly, injustice, and extremism.
This corrosive legislation and policies that interpose political haymaking between students and their teachers have already caused an exodus of teachers to abandon the profession. As policies related to the Protect Students First Act (and its antecedents, SB 226, HB 1084, and HB 1178) are enshrined, even more, will give up. Vigorous, lively classroom spaces, where teachers have traditionally exercised their professional judgment and students have been encouraged to be inquisitive, have significantly declined.
These censorship laws threaten scholarly integrity and erode Georgia's education reputation, violate the civil liberties of students and teachers in the state, and they fundamentally devalue the discipline of history in the process. Furthermore, the pressure to craft these laws has been fueled by fringe disinformation campaigns intended to subvert public dialogue and eviscerate cultural norms with inflammatory and sometimes violent rhetoric.
We need to be able to gather facts unfettered by partisan roadblocks to make informed decisions about the issues that impact our lives. The Georgia Association of Historians stands opposed to limiting the teaching of uncomfortable truths. Such efforts have promoted bigotry and ignorance and will only weaken our public fabric.
* * *
The Georgia Association of Historians was organized in 1973 as a statewide professional organization for the study of history. The purpose of the organization is to strengthen the historical profession and to enhance the professional lives of historians in Georgia by any of all of the following: holding meetings, conferences, seminars, or symposia concerned with historical topics; encouraging and promoting historical research, preservation, record keeping, and publication; publishing journals or magazines devoted to history; encouraging and promoting high standards in the teaching of history; sponsoring the appearance in Georgia of outstanding historians; recognizing excellence in historical research and publication, in service to the profession, and in the teaching of history by appropriate awards or prizes; encouraging and promoting public history; fostering professional and social communication among historians; encouraging and promoting historians in training; engaging in other appropriate activities which are in keeping with the purpose of the association.
We encourage people to contact their local legislators directly and state that, as students, educators, and parents, we oppose these attempts at censorship and these restrictions on learning. Contact information for current members of the Georgia Senate Education & Youth and House Education committees is available here.
Andrew Goss
President, Georgia Association of Historians
Professor of History
Augusta University
Summerville Campus, Allgood Hall E222
1120 15th Street
Augusta, GA 30912
T 706-737-1709 | F 706-729-2177
[email protected]