October 3, 2014

Colorado schoo board backs off plan to censor history

NY Times - — A battle over teaching American history that stirred student protests and kindled a debate about censorship in schools reached an emotional climax on Thursday night, as hundreds of parents and students here in suburban Denver sparred with a conservative school board majority over a proposal to create a curriculum-review panel.

But after two weeks of demonstrations and a fierce backlash across Colorado and beyond, the Jefferson County school board scrapped a plan that sought to teach students the “benefits of the free-enterprise system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights” while avoiding lessons that condoned “civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law.” Instead, the board voted 3 to 2 to adopt a compromise that would allow community members, students and teachers to join the experts who already conduct curriculum reviews for the school district.

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