Missouri Republican lawmakers are seeking to ban schools from teaching lessons on the role of systemic racism in the U.S. while also creating a program to promote American patriotism. A new bill, sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Koenig, a Manchester Republican, seeks to explicitly ban the teaching of critical race theory, a college-level academic concept that examines the role of institutions in perpetuating racism. The academic theory is not widely taught in Missouri’s K-12 schools, but the phrase has become a shorthand among hard-right conservatives for any lesson that delves into systemic racism’s role in U.S. history or politics. Koenig’s bill also calls on the education department to create a training program to “prepare teachers to teach the principles of American civics and patriotism.” The legislation, under consideration Wednesday by the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee, has been decried by activists and Democrats. Opponents say it puts new burdens on te...