Restricting Dialogues on Race and Gender, Reinforcing Dominant Narratives: A Critical Analysis of Tennessee’s HB580/SB623

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Abstract

This paper critically examines Tennessee’s House Bill 580/Senate Bill 623, later enacted as Public Chapter 493, arguing that it operates as a racialized tool to sustain existing power structures. Using critical discourse analysis grounded in critical race theory, this study demonstrates how the policy functions as a political instrument of racial control rather than as a neutral curriculum initiative it claims to be. It argues that such political efforts reshape the role of public education to uphold structural inequalities under the guise of educational reform and to preserve prevailing ideological interests, especially in the current political moment. Furthermore, it contributes to scholarship on racialized education policies and the policy-driven (self-) censorship they create, while encouraging critical reflection among educators.

Author

• Julianne Park, New York University