Fear, Hesitation, and Resistance - Georgia Educators’Responses to Divisive Concepts Legislation

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda

Attacks on CRT and neoliberal legislation in the United States weaken public education and democracy. Divisive concepts legislation limits what teachers can say and do, countering diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. This article examines how educators’ identities and contextual constraints shaped collaborative reflection on the impact of Georgia’s HB 1084 (a censorship policy). The study codes educator vignettes for fear, hesitation, and/or resistance, revealing surveillance effects and widespread resistance, and concludes the policy undermines culturally relevant, antiracist, justice-centered teaching.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background and purpose

Methods and analysis

Findings and implications

education policy analysis archives A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal Arizona State University | Volume 32 Number 61 October 8, 2024 | ISSN 1068-2341 | | --- | --- | Fear, Hesitation, and Resistance: Georgia Educators’Responses to Divisive Concepts Legislation Lisa York Saniha Kabani Caroline B. Rabalais Marquis Baker Matthew Shiloh Nathaniel Ervin Kate Woodbridge Marissa Murdock Adrian Douglass & Nadia Behizadeh Georgia State University United States Citation: York, L., Kabani, S., Rabalais, C. B., Baker, M., Shiloh, M., Ervin, N., Woodbridge, K. Murdock, M., Douglass, A., & Behizadeh, N. (2024) . Fear, hesitation, and resistance: Georgia educators’ responses to divisive concepts legislation. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 32(61) . [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8339](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8339) Abstract: Currently, attacks on CRT and neoliberal legislation work to undermine public education and democracy in the United States. Divisive concepts legislation restricts what teachers say and do, acting as a counterwave to implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. In this article, a collective of educators with diverse identities working in varied contexts engage in collaborative reflection on the impact of HB 1084 (a censorship policy in Georgia), on their educational practices. We generated vignettes and coded them for the degree to which we reacted with fear, hesitation, and/or resistance. Our responses existed within this set of reactions and were influenced by our identities, constraints/affordances of our contexts, and experiences. Our vignettes expose how the legislation subjected us to a surveillance state that sometimes produced fear and hesitation, especially for those in positions related to preservice teaching. However, resistance was also present in response to the legislation in almost every vignette. Implications emerging from this study include the importance of educators engaging student voices as a form of backup and the necessity of coalition building for critical teaching. Findings suggest policies like HB 1084 undermine culturally relevant, antiracist, justice-centered teaching and are fundamentally regressive to improving the public school system. Keywords: educational legislation; censorship; reflection on practice; resistance; neoliberal policies Miedo, vacilación y resistencia: Las respuestas de los educadores de Georgia a la legislación sobre conceptos divisivos Resumen: Los ataques actuales a la teoría crítica de la razón (CRT en inglés) y a la legislación neoliberal contribuyen a socavar la educación pública y la democracia en los Estados Unidos. La legislación sobre conceptos divisivos restringe lo que los docentes dicen y hacen, actuando como una contracorriente a la implementación de iniciativas de diversidad, equidad e inclusión. En este artículo, un colectivo de educadores con identidades diversas que trabajan en contextos variados participan en una reflexión colaborativa sobre el impacto de la HB 1084 (una política de censura en Georgia) en sus prácticas educativas. Generamos viñetas y las codificamos según el grado en que reaccionamos con miedo, vacilación y/o resistencia. Nuestras respuestas existían dentro de este conjunto de reacciones y estaban influenciadas por nuestras identidades, las limitaciones/posibilidades de nuestros contextos y experiencias. Nuestras viñetas exponen cómola legislación nos sometió a un estado de vigilancia que a veces produjo miedo y vacilación, especialmente para aquellos en puestos relacionados con la docencia en formación. Sin embargo, la resistencia también estuvo presente en respuesta a la legislación en casi todas las viñetas. Las implicaciones que surgen de este estudio incluyen la importancia de que los educadoresincorporen las voces de los estudiantes como una forma de respaldo y la necesidad de formarcoaliciones para una enseñanza crítica.

FAQs

What issue does the article study regarding Georgia educators?

It studies how educators respond to Georgia’s divisive concepts legislation, focusing on the impact of HB 1084 and its censorship effects on educational practice.

How did the researchers analyze educators’ reactions?

They generated vignettes from a collective of educators and coded the vignettes according to degrees of fear, hesitation, and/or resistance, shaped by identities and contextual constraints or affordances.

What do the findings suggest about resistance and policy impact?

Resistance appeared in almost every vignette, even as the legislation sometimes produced fear and hesitation, and the findings conclude that policies like HB 1084 undermine culturally relevant, antiracist, justice-centered teaching.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda