Georgia is joining other states in the country to limit discussions about race in the classroom.

According to CNN, on April 1, House Bill 1084, also known as the “Protect Students First Act,” passed in Georgia’s State Senate in a 32-21 vote.

The Georgia State Senate posted in a tweet, the bill would “prohibit schools and local school systems from advocating divisive concepts and ensure that curricula and training programs encourage students and employees to practice tolerance and respect and not judge others based on race.”

The bill  will return to the House for final approval.

The bill has been widely criticized, Maurice Brewton, a US history teacher in Georgia, told AJC, “It’s time for us to be able to have these uncomfortable conversations candidly. We don’t want to continue to push the conversation back and make the next generation have to deal with it,”

Katie Guenthner, a 17-year-old senior at  Decatur High who was protesting the bill, said, “Any discussion about race that could perceivably offend anyone would be banned. Imagine what that would do to the quality of education of Georgia’s universities. Professors and students would live in fear of saying the wrong things, stymying free thought and new ideas.”

Another student at r Decatur High, 17-year-old Yana Batra, also added, “Nearly two-thirds of us all across the state are students of color. We face racism in America every day. We want our white peers to learn about it, and so do they.”

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Similar bills have been passing all over the country. Legislatures in over 40 states have introduced other bills to limit classroom lessons on America’s history of racism, according to ABC.

Teaching children about the history of racism in the United States has emerged as a political lightning rod that Republicans hope will energize their base in the 2022 midterm elections. As a result, fear is being stirred among white parents that CRT threatens their schools.

For example, in November, Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin used that strategy to win his election. On the campaign trail, he vowed to ban CRT in schools on his first day in office, Newsweek reported.

After his victory, the GOP signaled that the battle over how to teach about racism in public schools could sweep the party into power in Congress, the Associated Press noted.