Georgia educators react to diversity references being cut from teacher prep courses

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission on July 13 unanimously voted to amend the language and replace those words with “differences” and “fairness.” The changes are set to go into effect Aug. 15.

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Georgia public school teachers will soon not hear language like “diversity’ and “equity” in their teacher prep courses.

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission on July 13 unanimously voted to amend the language and replace those words with “differences” and “fairness.”

Those changes are set to go into effect on Aug. 15. Advocates spoke out against the revisions during public comment, echoing concerns that the move is similar to Georgia’s new GOP-pushed “divisive concepts” law. That law restricts the way public school teachers can discuss systemic racism in K-12 classrooms.

WABE has reached out to the state panel on their reasoning for making the amendments.

Meanwhile, Lisa Morgan, the head of the Georgia Association of Educators, sat down with WABE’s “Morning Edition” to discuss teacher concerns and the implications of the amended language.

The association supports the rights of public school employees and provides representation within the state legislature and agencies.