Conservative American states are introducing more bills controlling how history and race is taught in public schools. They are also giving parents more supervision over local schools and school boards. A school board is a group of elected officials who supervise a school district’s budget and educational decisions. A bill passed in Indiana that limits how race, history and politics can be taught in the classroom. It also permits parents to bring complaints and legal action against schools. Americans are divided on how racism and discrimination in the present day should be taught, a recent study by the APM Research Lab, a policy research center, found. In a survey of 1,200 adults, 49 percent said schools should teach the “ongoing effects of slavery and racism in the United States.” But 41 percent say schools should teach the history of racism, but not “about race relations today.” Answers were also very divided by race. While 79 percent of Black people surveyed said the ongoing effects of racism should be taught, just 41 percent of whites felt the same. Teaching how historical racism and slavery affects life today is a central idea in Critical Race Theory, or CRT. Critical race theory is about how racism and white supremacy have shaped American society, laws and policies. It has also come under attack from Republican lawmakers. In January, newly-elected Virginia governor Republican Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order banning Critical Race Theory. Republican states including Tennessee and Texas passed similar laws last year. But it is unclear how many schools actually teach CRT. Critics of such laws also say that any attempt to teach racism is labeled as Critical Race Theory.