# Plain Language Summary: Stop CRT Act

The Stop CRT Act is a federal employment law that restricts what employers can require or encourage their workers to learn about in training programs and workplace activities. Specifically, it prohibits employers from mandating or promoting training that teaches employees to feel guilty, ashamed, or personally responsible for actions committed by other people based on their race, color, sex, or national origin. The bill also prevents employers from requiring workers to attend sessions that suggest someone's worth or moral character is determined by their race or other protected characteristics, or that one group is inherently superior or inferior to another based on these traits.

In practical terms, this means if you work for a company that receives federal funding or contracts, your employer cannot force you to participate in diversity training or workplace education that the law defines as promoting "critical race theory" concepts. The bill applies to federal contractors, federal employees, and organizations receiving federal grants or funding. If an employer violates these rules, employees can file complaints, and the employer could face penalties or loss of federal funding. However, the law doesn't prevent employers from offering voluntary training about the history of discrimination, teaching about different cultures, or discussing diversity in general—it specifically targets mandatory programs that the law characterizes as assigning collective guilt or promoting racial hierarchies.

The bill has been controversial because supporters argue it protects workers from ideological indoctrination, while critics contend it could limit important conversations about systemic racism and historical injustices in the workplace. The practical effect depends largely on how courts interpret what counts as prohibited "critical race theory" training versus permitted diversity education.

Stop CRT Act

Cotton, Tom

Stop CRT Act This bill grants Executive Order 13950 the force and effect of law, except with respect to elementary schools, secondary schools, or institutions of higher education. That order prohibits federal agencies and contractors from advancing specified policies or training related to race or sex. The bill further prohibits the allocation of federal funds to an elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education that compels teachers or students to affirm certain race-based theories.