Monmouth Co. Assemblyman Wants To Ban Critical Race Theory In NJ

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A Republican assemblyman is introducing a bill to ban critical race theory from being taught in New Jersey public schools.

The state Assemblyman is Gerry Scharfenberger (R-Monmouth), who got his start in politics as a Middletown Township Committeeman and then mayor.

Scharfenberger said he wasn't aware specifically of critical race theory being currently taught in any New Jersey schools, but said:

"What we're doing with this is trying to get out ahead of it. We want to keep it from being too embedded. We want real history taught in schools and not opinion, not some kind of woke ideology."

States such as Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Idaho have passed similar bans on critical race theory from their public schools, and Scharfenberger said he wants New Jersey to follow suit.

Critical race theory entered the lexicon back in the 1970s, credited to attorney and civil rights activist Derrick Bell. It is a decades-old legal and academic framework that examines how race and racism shaped U.S. laws and institutions. One key tenet of critical race theory is that race and racism helped create many American laws on the books today, and that such laws can perpetuate racism and a kind of caste system that continues to disadvantage of people of color.

However, the phrase has become a lightning-rod catchall for various claims about racism and race relations in the United States, having nothing to do with critical race theory itself.

Critics of critical race theory, many of whom are Republican, say it pits students against each other and divides students based on their race.

Scharfenberger is himself a college professor — he teaches archaeology at Monmouth University — and he said critical race theory started as an academic and legal look into how racism affected U.S. law and racial justice. But he argues it has devolved into an ideology that classifies people as the oppressed or oppressors based on sex and race.

“We should never pit one group against another and divide us along racial lines," said Scharfenberger. "That is racism. We should emphasize the greatness of the United States and the opportunities available to people of all races, ethnicities and religions.”

A spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Education did not respond, and neither did a spokeswoman for the New Jersey teachers' union, when asked about Scharfenberger's bill.

The bill would prohibit educators and boards of education from creating standards and curriculum, and using supplemental materials, that advocate only one viewpoint, which he said is happening in American classrooms today. The bill would also mandate that so-called controversial topics would be impartially taught, with room for varying perspectives.

The bill also requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules prohibiting educators from using the classroom to advocate for political, ideological or religious ideas, and create enforcement guidelines and penalties for noncompliance, including the termination of staff and withholding of state funds from districts that knowingly violate the law.

"The good news to me is that people of every race, education level and background are speaking out against critical race theory," he told Patch. "It really is heartening. It goes to show that people are a lot more unified than some think. I want our kids to be not racist. I want them to have respect for this country and respect for each other."

Scharfenberger represents Legislative District 13, and represents the towns of Aberdeen, Atlantic Highlands, Fair Haven, Hazlet, Highlands, Holmdel, Keansburg, Keyport, Little Silver, Marlboro, Middletown, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Sea Bright, Rumson and Union Beach in Trenton.

With November's general election coming up, Scharfenberger and Republican state Senator Declan O'Scanlon hope to hold onto their seats and fend off challenges from Democrats Vincent Solomeno, Erin Howard and Allison Friedman. Republican Vicky Flynn is also running.

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