Today is May Day, and we begin hot with nationwide protests in our schools. This shouldn’t come as a surprise — the past few weeks have been a whirlwind of political events. From the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to the indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, there is no shortage of political controversy.
What is May Day, you might ask? For months, teachers&#8217; unions and high-profile left-wing nonprofits have <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/a-may-day-2026-host-toolkit-includes-training-information-for-a-coordinated-day-of-action-and-promotes-tactics-such-as-a-school-walk-in-nea-provided-1-7m-in-funding-to-organization-involved/">geared</a> up for mass mobilizations and boycotts to honor the socialist holy day and to flex their political power. Part of the preparation <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/a-sunrise-movement-training-guidebook-calls-for-students-to-take-action-monthly-to-disrupt-business-as-usual-to-bring-about-a-political-revolution/">efforts include</a> training and organizing children to engage in <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/k-12-student-walkout-and-protest-tracker/">school walkouts</a> and protests.
While left-wing activism is not new itself, what is relatively new is the degree to which the education system has been corrupted to engineer new generations to activists. These May Day protests are a feature, a byproduct really, of an education system steeped in radical ideologies designed to mobilize far-left activism and a “<a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/newly-obtained-slides-from-a-sunrise-movement-membership-meeting-calls-for-a-political-revolution-that-includes-the-need-to-structurally-change-the-foundations-of-this-country-to-achieve-eco/">political revolution</a>.”
Nor are these protests the end. They are an opening act for what the professional agitators and activists intend to be an ongoing affair leading up to the 2028 elections. K-12 schools are strategic collateral damage.
This pattern is visible in the series of <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/k-12-student-walkout-and-protest-tracker/">student walkouts</a> since January, many of which focused on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Less visible to the public, however, is the role of the <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/nea-president-becky-pringle-joins-sunrise-movements-roadmap-to-political-revolution-event-series/">teachers&#8217; unions</a> and <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/group-messages-and-training-documents-suggest-k-12-student-ice-protests-in-minnesota-may-be-organized-by-the-sunrise-movement-and-its-members-including-a-current-ivy-league-student-with-ties-to-past/">nonprofit allies</a> in these protests.
For American children, the learning experience is a constant barrage of heavily lopsided <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/minnesota-eighth-graders-shown-videos-of-ice-arrests-and-alleged-harassment-of-u-s-citizens-principal-says-its-part-of-state-geography-standards/">political messaging</a> meant to train the youngest kids to see the world through a <a href="https://www.newsmax.com/politics/critical-competency-consciousness/2023/12/07/id/1145144/">warped oppressor-oppressed</a> framing and to engage in action or activism to stop the perceived “injustice.”
Whether through <a href="https://web.ped.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/K12ParentandFamilySocialStudiesGuides.pdf">state standards</a> and guidance, such as New Mexico Public Education Department’s Social Studies “<a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/new-mexico-education-documents-for-high-school-history-and-ethnic-studies-include-climate-change-intersectionality-and-january-6-insurrection-content/">Instructional Scope</a>” or <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/liberated-k-12-liberated-ethnic-studies-industrial-complex/">ethnic studies</a> courses, students are being conditioned to be political actors from the <a href="https://defendinged.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Liberated-Ethnic-Studies-Model-Curriculum-What-is-Normal_-Slides-presentation-Gr-Pk-2.pdf">earliest ages</a>.
For example, a free <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/liberated-universities-landing-page/">lesson</a> produced by the University of Minnesota’s &#8220;Ethnic Studies Initiative” teaches sixth-grade students about the Black Lives Matter movement through the creation of “protest art.” The middle school students are then required to produce their own social justice protest art.
Such indoctrination is not only reserved for ethnic studies. It has permeated into our school system through Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) <a href="https://defendinged.org/resources/sel101/">programming</a>.
SEL is no less a political tool than ethnic studies. In 2019, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) <a href="https://www.aft.org/ae/summer2021/jagers_skoog-hoffman_barthelus_schlund">mainstreamed</a> “transformative” SEL, which integrates anti-racism and <a href="https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/research-evaluation/youth-organizing-and-transformative-sel">activism</a> into its framework.
Second Step, a popular SEL company that utilizes CASEL’s platform, went further and <a href="https://defendinged.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-28-at-4.17.30-PM.png">aligned</a> its curriculum with Learning for Justice’s Social Justice Standards, focusing specifically on action and activism. Learning for Justice is a program of the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-grand-jury-charges-southern-poverty-law-center-wire-fraud-false-statements-and">Southern Poverty Law Center</a> (SPLC).
As students, teachers&#8217; unions, and left-wing activist organizations take to the streets this May Day to champion policies and an ideology that the majority of Americans reject, the public needs to understand that this is the starting gun, not the finish line.
Left-wing actors desperately want a “political revolution” and have no problem using other people&#8217;s children to achieve their goals. They have no issue turning the K-12 education system into a far-left activist pipeline. What we’re seeing now is just the beginning.
* * *
Rhyen Staley is a researcher for Defending Education. He holds a master&#8217;s degree in elementary education and has over a decade of classroom experience in both public and private schools. He has over 25 years of coaching experience from junior high to Division I.

May Day Workers Rally

Teachers’ Unions Celebrate Socialist Holy Day

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Public schools teaching children about sexuality and transgenderism without parental consent have been put on notice by the Department of Justice.
The Justice Department&#8217;s Civil Rights Division <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-launches-investigations-concerning-gender-ideology-pre-k-12-schools-36" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> Thursday it was investigating 36 Illinois school districts to find out if they have sexual orientation and gender ideology content in their pre-k and K-12 curricula, noting these districts receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding.
“This Department of Justice is determined to put an end to local school authorities keeping parents in the dark about how sexuality and gender ideology are being pushed in classrooms,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon.
“Supreme Court precedent leaves no doubt: parents have the fundamental right and primary authority to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children. This includes exempting their children from ideological instruction that contradicts their values or decisions about their children’s health and best interests.”
The Supreme Court sided with parents when it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-sides-with-parents-says-schools-cant-mandate-lgbt-curricula" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> in June 2025 that parents have the right to opt their children out of LGBT programs in public schools.
If Illinois school districts are discovered to be teaching students sexual orientation and gender identity content, the DOJ will determine if parents have been given the chance to opt out of the programming. The department will also be investigating whether students can access bathrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex and whether only biological females can compete on girls&#8217; sports teams.
Shannon Adcock, founder and president of the parental rights group <a href="https://www.awakeil.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Awake Illinois</a>, called the investigation a &#8220;huge win&#8221; for parents.
&#8220;The DOJ’s launch of investigations into 36 Illinois school districts for pushing gender ideology in Pre-K-12 classrooms without proper parental notification is a huge win for parental rights and child protection,&#8221; Adcock told The Daily Wire. &#8220;For years, groups like Awake Illinois have been on the front lines demanding transparency, opt-out rights, and adherence to Title IX — protecting single-sex spaces, girls’ sports, and biological reality in our schools,&#8221; Adcock told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;Every district under scrutiny should immediately restore parental authority and biological fairness,&#8221; she added. &#8220;We won’t stop until our kids’ schools prioritize truth, safety, and parental involvement over ideology.&#8221;

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Justice Department Investigating Schools That Secretly Teach Children About Transgenderism

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This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
When news broke last month that a Minnesota district would include Islamic prayer rooms in its new high school buildings, many commenters drew the wrong conclusion. Some expressed legitimate concerns about the scale of Muslim migration, but others seemed committed to accusing the district of hypocrisy.
“Separation of Church and State for 1 religion only it appears,” one X user <a href="https://x.com/lanedrivinsmoke/status/2046246050508263593?s=46">snarked</a>.
To which another <a href="https://x.com/jacktomczak/status/2046275017302757521?s=46">replied</a>, “What do you mean? Christian and Jewish kids can use this room too.”
They both have a point. The blueprints include foot-washing stations for Islamic ritual ablutions, which makes it pretty obvious which religion these <a href="https://alphanews.org/plans-for-prayer-room-and-foot-washing-station-at-minnesota-schools-go-viral/">prayer rooms</a> are designed to serve. At the same time, there’s nothing stopping Christian students from using these rooms. They just won’t do it. And that should set off alarm bells for Christians.
A quick example should suffice to illustrate what I mean. One day last spring, when I was between jobs working as a substitute teacher at a local public middle school, a few Muslim students approached my desk and let me know they’d be leaving class to pray in a room set aside for that purpose.
A few minutes later, the conclave in Rome elected Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope. I’d been monitoring the election closely (<a href="https://spectator.com/article/betting-on-a-papal-conclave-felt-mildly-degenerate/?edition=us">because I had money on it</a>), so I saw the news right away and decided to share it with my students, of whom a plurality, if not a majority, were Hispanic. 
And because I still had the prayer room on my mind, I mentioned that I’d be happy to let any Catholics among them leave class briefly to pray for their new pope. In response, I got nothing but blank stares.
I realize this is a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison. The obligation to pray at five set times each day is one of the five pillars of Islam. There’s no comparable Catholic tradition of laypeople interrupting their day to pray for a newly elected pope (or for any other reason).
But maybe that’s the problem.
American Christianity has become invisible in the public square. We don’t wear headscarves, grow forelocks, carry <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirpan">special daggers</a>, or stop what we’re doing to flop down on prayer rugs. Our Sabbath-keeping is a joke compared to how the Jews do it.
We don’t even fast much anymore. In 1966, U.S. Catholic bishops “ended the obligation to abstain from meat on the Fridays outside of Lent” as long as “some other form of penance or work of charity was done,” the <a href="https://dio.org/catholic-times/hey-father-what-is-the-history-of-no-meat-on-friday/">Catholic Times explains</a>. That leaves a grand total of seven mandatory meatless days per year. Whoop-dee-doo.
Evangelical Protestants, meanwhile, tend to define their faith as a liberation from man-made rituals and religious obligations. They might endorse fasting as a valuable personal discipline, but the idea of requiring everyone to fast in the same ways on the same days sounds too much like works-based righteousness.
Why Christianity has adapted itself to secularism more fully than other religions is a tricky question. Tom Holland addresses it at length in his book &#8220;Dominion,&#8221; but the short answer is that this transformation is the product of the Christian West’s unique history and of Christianity’s own internal logic.
The reasons might be complex, but the negative consequences are obvious. 
First, Christians lose cultural influence. A religion that’s willing to make demands on secular institutions can often extract concessions. Muslims get foot-washing stations in public schools. Jews get “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat_elevator">sabbath elevators</a>” that stop automatically on every floor so they don’t have to break their law by pushing an electronic button. <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/features/how-a-catholic-businessman-put-the-filet-o-fish-on-the-mcdonald-s-menu?amp">Catholics got the Filet-O-Fish</a>, but that was back in 1963. Today, with the fasting rules relaxed, McDonald’s would have little reason to introduce it.
Second, Christians internalize the idea that there’s nothing different about them. This is especially true during adolescence, the stage when <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9167890/">peers become a bigger influence than parents</a>. If faith is part of a tween&#8217;s home life but doesn&#8217;t matter at school, it will naturally become less important to him over time.
Third, non-religious people come to regard Christianity as thin and ephemeral, something anyone can simply “<a href="https://www.wishtv.com/news/national/taylor-swift-calls-gop-sen-marsha-blackburn-trump-in-a-wig-in-new-documentary/">identify as</a>” without any skin in the game. Remember, these &#8220;nones&#8221; don’t see what happens at mass or mosque. They’ve watched their Muslim friends, even those for whom religion is mostly cultural, suffer through Ramadan fasts. But what do their Christian friends do? Try to be nice to people? That’s fine as far as it goes, but it doesn’t exactly scream “<a href="https://biblehub.com/john/1-46.htm">come and see</a>.”
Fortunately, I have a solution: Catholics should use the noon <a href="https://www.usccb.org/prayers/angelus">Angelus</a> as a ministry to members of their church who attend public schools. This medieval devotion consists of ringing a bell, followed by a few scripture verses commemorating the Annunciation and a few Hail Marys. The whole thing takes about two minutes.
Implementing the Angelus in public schools would be easy. All you’d need is a bell, a parent, or a mature student to lead the prayers, and an empty room reserved from 11:55 to 12:05. If the school won’t give you a room, sue them. You’ll win.
For Protestants, a shortened version of <a href="http://bcp2019.anglicanchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/07-Midday-Prayer.pdf">the midday prayer service from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer</a> would be just as workable.
It is, of course, possible that some kids would attend these services just to get out of class. But that’s a feature, not a bug. 
Carving out space for Christian worship in public schools would strengthen the faith of devout students, but it would also give nominal adherents a stronger sense of themselves as Christians while showing non-believers that Christianity is a religion worth taking seriously.
The reason Muslims have public school prayer rooms and we don’t isn’t because administrators favor Muslims over Christians (though I’m sure they often do). It’s because Muslims demand them and we don’t. It’s time for that to change.
***
Grayson Quay is the author of &#8220;The Transhumanist Temptation&#8221; and a former editor at the Daily Caller.

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Why Public Schools Are Making Space For Faith And Christians Aren’t Part Of It

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On Tuesday, at the UCLA School of Law, history repeated itself — this time without even the courtesy of waiting for a federal judge. James Percival, the general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security, had been <a href="https://dailybruin.com/2026/04/21/demonstrators-protest-ucla-event-hosting-dhs-general-counsel-james-percival">invited</a> by the UCLA Federalist Society for a conversation about immigration law. More than 150 demonstrators protested the event. Many heckled Percival throughout, yelling, playing doorbell sounds and ringtones, and tapping on desks after being asked to silence their phones. The open Q&amp;A never occurred. The Federalist Society had put it plainly in its invitation: &#8220;Come, ask your hardest questions, and make your case.&#8221; The students answered with noise.
This should sound familiar. In 2023, the UCLA script played out at my alma mater, Stanford Law, now ranked first in the nation. Judge Kyle Duncan — a Fifth Circuit judge nominated by President Donald Trump during his first term — had been <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/struggle-session-at-stanford-law-school-federalist-society-kyle-duncan-circuit-court-judge-steinbach-4f8da19e">invited</a> by Stanford&#8217;s Federalist Society to speak. Students greeted him with shouted insults, sustained disruption, and signs. Stanford&#8217;s own associate dean joined the heckling from the podium. Duncan was ultimately escorted out by federal marshals. Stanford&#8217;s president and dean later apologized.
Duncan, life-tenured and apparently unbothered, returned to his chambers and kept writing opinions.
This week, he may have written his finest.
On Tuesday — the same day UCLA students were busy shouting down the DHS&#8217;s top lawyer — the full Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, upheld a Texas law requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. Judge Duncan wrote the opinion in <a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/25/25-50695-CV0.pdf">Rabbi Mara Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District</a>. It is a serious, carefully constructed piece of constitutional reasoning, and it deserves more attention than the protest theater unfolding across the law school quad. (Full disclosure: Rabbi Nathan is a college friend whom I respect but disagree with.)
The legal question before the court was straightforward: Does a classroom display of the Ten Commandments resemble any of the historic hallmarks of an established religion? Duncan shows, methodically, that it does not. No student is compelled to recite the Commandments, profess belief in them, or even glance at them. They are present as part of the moral and legal inheritance that shaped Western civilization and, with it, the country those students live in.
Critics reach reflexively for Jefferson&#8217;s &#8220;wall of separation between church and state,” a phrase that appears nowhere in the First Amendment. It comes from a 1802 <a href="https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html">letter</a> Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists as a promise of non-interference, not a mandate to scrub faith from civic life. George Washington was blunter in his <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">Farewell Address</a>: A republican government depends on a moral people, and religion and morality are its indispensable supports.
And then there are claims that the display text is somehow sectarian. In First Things, a Protestant scholar, Mark David Hall, and a rabbi, Stuart Halpern of Yeshiva University, joined me, a Catholic, to <a href="https://firstthings.com/a-nonsectarian-version-of-the-ten-commandments/">show</a> that the text these states require was crafted through deliberate interfaith collaboration and recognized by multiple courts as nonsectarian. Judge Duncan wisely observes that it is not the province of federal courts to opine on such theological matters.
It’s worth noting that the generation least likely to have encountered the Ten Commandments in any formal setting is also the one now turning to faith in quietly remarkable numbers. Gen Z, raised on curated content and institutional skepticism, is discovering that ancient things sometimes endure for good reason. Washington feared that a republic without religion and morality could not long endure. A generation quietly proving him right is a development worth more than a classroom wall. But the wall is a good place to start.
The Texas case will likely reach the Supreme Court. When it does, the justices will have the opportunity to confirm what most people outside law schools already sense: that a civilization that acknowledges its moral inheritance is not establishing a religion. A classroom wall is not an established church. It is a reminder.
Meanwhile, Judge Kyle Duncan — the man they tried to silence at Stanford Law — just handed down the opinion of his career. He didn&#8217;t need a microphone; he had a pen.
Back at UCLA, the noise has likely faded. James Percival returned to Washington.
Stanford Law students shouted down a federal judge; now their counterparts at UCLA have done the same to the government’s top immigration lawyer. The targets were different. The impulse was identical. And the man they couldn’t silence at Stanford has just written an opinion that will serve as the roadmap for the Supreme Court when a key religious freedom issue arrives there — and it will.
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Andrea Picciotti Bayer is director of the Conscience Project and recipient of the Religious Freedom Institute’s 2025 Religious Freedom Impact Award.

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Heckled Judge Just Handed The Left Its Worst Ruling In Years

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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti accused a Nashville public school of &#8220;promoting particular religious viewpoints&#8221; through its accommodation of Muslim students during Ramadan, saying the school crossed the line from allowing religious exercise to actively facilitating it.
In a Tuesday <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/justice/tennessee-ag-skrmetti-weighs-legal-implications-of-muslim-prayer-accommodations-in-nashville-public-school/khousler/2026/04/15/">interview</a> with the Tennessee Star, Skrmetti responded to reports that a Metro Nashville Public Schools employee set up a dedicated Islamic prayer room at John Overton High School and encouraged Muslim students to skip class to use it.
“Free exercise says the government can’t stop you from practicing your religion,” Skrmetti explained. “The establishment clause, as interpreted, and as we hear about every time the legislature tries to do anything these days, says that the state can’t … participate in promoting particular religious viewpoints.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨BREAKING &#8211; I asked <a href="https://twitter.com/AGTennessee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AGTennessee</a> Skrmetti today if the MNPS decision to allow Muslim prayers during school hours in a dedicated room led by an MNPS employee at Overton High School coerces non-Muslim students and violates the Religious Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. <a href="https://t.co/LhaaXAwEgL">pic.twitter.com/LhaaXAwEgL</a>
— Michael Patrick Leahy (@michaelpleahy) <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelpleahy/status/2044187616606859387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
John Overton High School, according to a <a href="https://nashvillebanner.com/2026/04/07/ramadan-muslim-students-overton-high-school/">report</a> from the Nashville Banner, permitted more than 80 students to skip class daily during Ramadan prayer sessions, in addition to separate “food-free” classrooms for fasting Muslim students. Students reportedly used paper towels as improvised prayer mats and set up a divider separating boys and girls before one student recited passages from the Quran. Outside of the month of Ramadan, students are reportedly permitted to leave school grounds once a month to pray.
“So if the school is dedicating resources to something, that’s a very different situation than if the students are self-organizing,” Skrmetti added. “I look at it as an attempt to propagandize and proselytize [non-Muslim] students. That’s my view.”
In a similar vein, the U.S. Department of Education guidance released in February <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-issues-guidance-prayer-and-religious-expression-public-schools">states</a> that “public schools may not sponsor prayer nor coerce or pressure students to pray.”
“School officials should allow members of the public school community to act and speak according to their faith, as long as&#8230; The school itself does not engage in religious activities or speech as an institution,” the guidance continues.
The Tennessee attorney general teased further state action on the issue, concluding: “I expect that we’ll be hearing more about it one way or another.”
The controversy comes as Tennessee lawmakers grapple with the role of religion in public schools more broadly. State House Bill 1491, which would have required public schools to set aside a period for prayer and Bible reading, was temporarily <a href="https://www.tnfirefly.com/news/protecting-religious-liberty-and-expression-in-public-schools-act-tabled-for-summer-study?ref=pamphleteer.co">tabled</a> in a 12-7 committee vote last week in favor of further research on the issue over the summer.
Proponents of the bill argue that the bill aligns with the Supreme Court&#8217;s Kennedy v. Bremerton decision in 2022, which held that the First Amendment protects individuals engaging in religious activities from government reprisal.

Cultural Center In Chicago Aids Rohingya Refugees Resettling In The U.S.

Prayer Mats. Gender Dividers. Quran Readings. Classroom Changes During Ramadan Paid For By Taxpayers

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Across the country, policymakers have long assumed that boosting K-12 funding is the surest path to better student outcomes. Yet decades of rising spending have proven otherwise. The missing ingredient is not money — it’s meaningful choice.
Florida provides one of the clearest examples. In <a href="https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/ftc/">2001</a>, the state launched a modest tax-credit scholarship program to help low-income students access alternative educational options. Roughly 15,000 students participated in the program’s first year. Today, Florida’s school choice ecosystem serves <a href="https://www.edchoice.org/state/florida/">over 500,000 students</a> across multiple programs, giving families options tailored to their children’s needs.
Critics long warned that policies empowering parents with educational options for their children harm public schools and their students. The data, however, tell a different story — the positive effects of school choice extend beyond participating students.
Florida public school students exposed to greater levels of school choice competition have experienced learning gains equivalent to as much as <a href="https://www.federationforchildren.org/florida-school-choice-cost-effectiveness-study/">120 additional days</a> of instruction in reading — nearly two-thirds of a school year. These effects are especially strong for low-income students, who often have little to no alternative to their residentially assigned district public school, regardless of whether it fails to educate children in the basics or to keep them physically safe.
A substantial body of <a href="https://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/123-of-School-Choice.pdf">research</a> across multiple states — including Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina — shows that as public schools face increased competition, students who remain in traditional public schools achieve higher test scores and stronger outcomes.
It is no coincidence that students do better when school choice exists. When families have options, schools must compete. The market force of competition is a powerful incentive that can drive innovation, sharpen priorities, and shift the focus from bureaucratic compliance to providing improved academic instruction. It also encourages schools to be more responsive to parents and more intentional in how they use resources.
For years, however, the default answer in education debates has been simple: spend more money. Calls to “fully fund” public schools are constant, yet rarely defined — and even less often tied to accountability for results. What matters is not how much is spent, but whether those dollars translate into improved student learning.
Despite steady increases in per-student spending nationwide, academic outcomes have persistently been low for years. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called the “Nation’s Report Card,” <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/reading/2024/g4_8/">reading scores</a> and <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/mathematics/2024/g4_8/?grade=4">math scores</a> remained relatively flat, then declined sharply following the pandemic and prolonged school closures.
The most recent results reveal that <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/reading/2024/g4_8/?grade=4">69% of fourth-grade students</a> and <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/reading/2024/g4_8/?grade=8">70% of eighth-grade students</a> are not proficient in reading, while <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/mathematics/2024/g4_8/">61% of fourth-grade students</a> and <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/mathematics/2024/g4_8/">72% of eighth-grade students</a> aren’t proficient in math. With an additional <a href="https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/the-200-billion-question-how-much-of-federal-covid-19-relief-funding-for-schools-will-go-to-covid-19-relief/">$200 billion</a> poured into K-12 public education during the pandemic, these figures underscore that greater funding does not equate to increased student learning.
Simply put, more money has not produced better outcomes. Instead, what has made a measurable difference is competition.
A recent <a href="https://www.federationforchildren.org/florida-school-choice-cost-effectiveness-study/">analysis</a> by Patrick Graff finds that Florida’s school choice programs are more than 11 times as cost-effective at improving public school student achievement compared with equivalent increases in K–12 spending. Achieving similar gains through funding alone would have required more than $1,400 in additional spending per student annually, totaling roughly <a href="https://www.federationforchildren.org/florida-school-choice-cost-effectiveness-study/">$31.8 billion</a> over 15 years.
Nationwide, school choice spending accounts for an incredibly small share of state funding. For example, in 2022, school choice programs accounted for just <a href="https://www.edchoice.org/the-fiscal-effects-of-school-choice/">0.3%</a> of total state spending. In Arizona, critics have fear-mongered that the state’s school choice program with universal eligibility would bankrupt the state. The claim is far from factual as the <a href="https://www.edchoice.org/the-fiscal-effects-of-school-choice/">Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account</a> program funding in 2022 was “only 0.9% of the state budget,” and the state experienced a <a href="https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/arizonas-universal-esa-program-a-history-of-surplus-savings-media-misinformation/">$2 billion surplus</a>. The end result of school choice is enormous savings to the state.
These are not isolated cases, but are becoming a consistent pattern emerging across the country. The improved outcomes driven by school choice are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
A 2025 <a href="https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/wordpressua.uark.edu/dist/9/544/files/2025/10/2024-25arkansaseducationfreedomaccountsprogramannualreport.pdf">study</a> of Arkansas’ Education Freedom Accounts finds that school choice is delivering strong academic performance, high family satisfaction, and sustained participation, signaling real benefits for students.
In Washington, D.C., students who used a scholarship through the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program were <a href="https://www.congress.gov/event/112th-congress/house-event/LC2715/text?utm_source=chatgpt.com">21 percentage points</a> more likely to graduate from high school than their peers who did not receive one.
Similarly, in Milwaukee — home to the country’s longest-running modern private school scholarship program — longitudinal research shows that students participating in a school choice program are <a href="https://scdp.uark.edu/milwaukee-parental-choice-program-evaluation/">more likely</a> to graduate from high school and attend college than comparable public school students.
A study by the Urban Institute on the Educational Choice Scholarship program found that students in Ohio using private school scholarships were significantly more likely to <a href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/effects-ohios-edchoice-voucher-program-college-enrollment-and-graduation">attend and complete college</a>, including higher rates of bachelor’s degree attainment.
Together, these findings point to lasting benefits that extend beyond K–12.
As the traditional system continues to fall short, the evidence points to a clear reality: funding levels alone do not account for differences in student performance. What does make a difference is access to educational options. School choice introduces the kind of competitive pressure that has long driven improvement in other sectors — and education is no exception. As more families recognize these benefits, demand grows further.
If the goal is to raise student achievement — particularly for the most vulnerable — expanding access to educational options warrants adoption. It delivers significant advantages for students who pursue alternatives and for those who remain in traditional public schools.
Education policy should be guided by what works. For decades, the prevailing assumption has been that increased spending will reliably produce better results. The data tells a different story. School choice, by contrast, has demonstrated consistent, measurable effects — not only on academic performance but also on long-term outcomes such as high school graduation, college enrollment, and degree attainment.
The question is no longer if school choice works — it’s whether policymakers elected by the taxpayers, but beholden to the teachers unions, are willing to act on the evidence.
* * * 
Dr. Keri D. Ingraham is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute, Director of the American Center for Transforming Education, and a Senior Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum.

Parents Are Gaining More Control In Education And The Results Are Hard To Ignore

Charter Schools

Florida

School Choice

This piece is part of MI x DW, a collaboration that brings Daily Wire readers exclusive commentary and research from the Manhattan Institute&#8217;s world-class team of scholars.
In this piece, Manhattan Institute Fellow Carolyn Gorman urges conservative education reformers to tackle school-based mental health programs. As Gorman explains, these initiatives have done little to improve students&#8217; mental health, but have contributed to falling outcomes — and cost taxpayers a pretty penny. — Tim Rice
***
American public education is at a crossroads.
Conservative education reformers have made real gains in recent years, on school choice — now universal in <a href="https://www.heritage.org/religious-liberty/commentary/school-choice-about-religious-liberty-not-just-better-test-scores">18 states</a> — <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/03/divided-court-sides-with-parents-in-dispute-over-california-policies-on-transgender-students/">parental rights</a>, <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/dismantle-department-of-education-trump-elon-musk">ideology</a> and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/linda-mcmahon-my-vision-eliminating-department-education">bureaucracy</a>. As a result, we&#8217;re barreling towards what the American Enterprise Institute&#8217;s Robert Pondiscio <a href="https://www.aei.org/articles/the-last-days-of-public-school/">predicts</a> will be an “unprecedented crack-up” of public education.
If the old education model is to enter its last days — if, as Pondiscio says, “we’ve hit and passed ‘peak public school’&#8221; — conservative reformers need to set their sights on their next goal. And that goal should be fighting school-based mental health treatment — another woke, wasteful, ineffective idea that’s reduced accountability in schools.
These programs date back to the early 20th century, when progressive <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2408392/">reformers</a> urged schools to promote mental health, train teachers to recognize signs of distress, and locate health clinics in schools. If schools could identify problems early and deliver treatment widely, reformers promised, mental illnesses could be prevented; academic and behavioral problems <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lois-Flaherty/publication/226535892_History_of_School-Based_Mental_Health_Services_in_the_United_States/links/5703061708aedbac126f4241/History-of-School-Based-Mental-Health-Services-in-the-United-States.pdf">might improve</a>, too. 
In the ensuing century, periodic <a href="https://www.aei.org/articles/the-mental-health-crisis-that-wasnt/">proclamations</a> of <a href="https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/mentalhealthcommission/reports/FinalReport/FullReport-1.htm">looming</a> mental health <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/school-based-mental-health-initiatives-challenges-and-considerations-for-policymakers#:~:text=In%20recent%20years%2C%20troubling%20increases%20in%20the%20prevalence%20of%20school%20violence%20and%20youth%20emotional%20distress%20have%20prompted%20a%20sense%20of%20urgency%20among%20policymakers%2C%20leading%20to%20the%20bipartisan%20action%20of%20committing%20billions%20of%20dollars%20annually%20in%20federal%20funding%20to%20bolster%20these%20programs.">crises</a>, tragedies like <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/193271">school shootings</a>, and expensive, bipartisan <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/school-based-mental-health-initiatives-challenges-and-considerations-for-policymakers#:~:text=In%20education%20policy,being%20in%20schools.">spending efforts</a> have caused school mental health programs to explode. Today, nearly all public schools — <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/learn/press-release/over-half-public-schools-report-staffing-and-funding-limit-their-efforts-effectively-provide-mental#:~:text=All%20data%20released%20today%20can,/spp/results.asp.&amp;text=Nearly%20all%20public%20schools%20provide,%2D22%20%5B25%20percent%5D).">97 percent</a> — offer some form of <a href="https://www.kff.org/mental-health/the-landscape-of-school-based-mental-health-services/">mental health services</a>, like counseling and talk therapy, universal screening, wellness programming, referrals, or telehealth. The number of <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/school-and-career-counselors.htm">school counselors</a> and <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes193034.htm">school psychologists</a> is more than four times the number of <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes193033.htm">clinical psychologists</a> and <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes291223.htm">psychiatrists</a> in a given community.
Over <a href="https://effectiveschoolsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mental-Health-Funding_Trends_FINAL_10_3_24.pdf">$130 billion</a> in federal and state funding has gone to school mental health in the past decade or so alone. Medicaid pays <a href="https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/about/offices/list/osers/docs/medicaid-funding-for-school-based-services-03-08-2024.pdf">$4 to 6 billion</a> annually for school districts to provide physical, mental, and behavioral health services, and states <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-07/sbs-guide-medicaid-services-administrative-claiming-ud.pdf#page=9">can pay</a> higher Medicaid rates for services in schools than in community healthcare settings.
None of this has produced results. Decades of evaluations show school-based <a href="https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/Gorman-Mental-Health-First-Aid.pdf">mental health awareness training</a>, <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2682225/">mental health screening</a>, universal and targeted <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31734106/">prevention programs</a>, and even <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/1054139X9500236L">school-based health centers</a> have not improved outcomes relative to the absence of these services.
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Aggregate youth mental health outcomes have declined as school-based mental health services have expanded. Between 2016 and 2023, the prevalence of adolescent-diagnosed mental or behavioral health conditions <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK608531/#:~:text=Between%202016%20and,problems%20was%20stable.">increased</a> by 35%. In 2016, 4.1% of youth <a href="https://www.childhealthdata.org/browse/survey/archive2021/results?q=4992&amp;r=1">reportedly</a> had ADD or ADHD and received treatment for it. That rate has grown nearly three times as high. At least some of this has been documented as <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-ritalin-generation-1473630453">overdiagnosis</a> <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/school-based-mental-health-initiatives-challenges-and-considerations-for-policymakers#:~:text=Federal%20guidance%20in,in%20decades%20prior.">driven by schools</a>. The youngest students in a given grade are disproportionately flagged by teachers and school staff as potentially having ADHD, then get diagnosed and medicated.
But school-based mental health has not simply had a poor return on investment. It also seriously undermines accountability for all parties. By confusing roles and responsibilities across the education and mental health systems, these programs give everyone involved — parents and teachers, students and school administrators — an excuse to point the finger elsewhere when grades, behavior, or student safety falls short of goals.  
Schools are not meant to provide mental health services. They&#8217;re meant to educate kids. Some die-hard proponents will debate that, suggesting schools are well-positioned to address mental health because it&#8217;s where kids spend most of their time, but that&#8217;s a weak argument: adults spend most of their time at work, but no one expects offices to offer psychotherapy or prescription refills.
Just as workplaces are meant for working, class time is meant for learning. Yet students are <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/schoolcounseling/comments/18cmp90/students_are_constantly_being_pulled_out_of_my/">routinely</a> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/1gdsoa1/behavioral_health_pulling_students_out_of_class/">pulled</a> from instruction for counseling or “emotional support.” When you consider that many school therapists think they can boost students&#8217; mental health by talking about <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pits.22606">racism</a> and <a href="https://www.portlandmh.com/decolonizing-mental-healthcare-and-mental-health-leadership-a-reflection-on-the-work-of-pavna-k-sodhi-edd/#:~:text=Colonialism%20has%20left,and%20social%20marginalization.">colonialist oppression,</a> it&#8217;s no wonder these efforts are failing while reading and math scores <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/09/09/nx-s1-5526918/nations-report-card-scores-reading-math-science-education-cuts">plummet.</a>
The best way for schools to help students&#8217; mental health is to simply be schools and be safe. Education has protective effects against poor mental health. ​Disorderly classrooms and violent hallways cause distress. Schools should clearly communicate and fairly enforce school discipline policies so that students know what behavior is expected and what happens when expectations aren&#8217;t met. Disruptive or violent students then learn consequences, and other students who&#8217;d otherwise be harmed know they&#8217;re protected.
When public schools aren’t doing what works, we know better than ever that there are alternatives to simply doubling down. 
***
Carolyn D. Gorman is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Sad teenage boy sitting by male counselor discussing in school office

It’s Time For Schools To Get Out Of The Mental Health Business

Education

Medicaid

Mental Health

Private Schools

Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an important ruling in Mirabelli v. Bonta, a case addressing whether schools can implement policies that deliberately exclude parents from critical decisions about their children’s well-being. The Court answered that question with a clear and resounding no.
In its order, the Court reinstated a prior injunction, barring California schools from enforcing policies that conceal students’ gender transitions from parents or require teachers to use names or pronouns inconsistent with biological sex. Under these rules, this information was withheld from parents unless the child consented. Naturally, many parents and teachers challenged these policies, arguing that they violated constitutional rights.
The Court agreed that the parents raising religious objections are likely to win their claims under the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. The justices also found that the policies are likely to interfere with parents’ long-recognized constitutional right to direct the upbringing and care of their children under the Fourteenth Amendment.
In reaching that conclusion, the Court relied on decades of precedent that affirm the role of parents in guiding their children’s development, including Wisconsin v. Yoder and Troxel v. Granville. The message is straightforward: when it comes to consequential decisions affecting a child’s identity, mental health, and moral development, the government cannot simply push parents aside.
This ruling arrives amid a broader national debate over how schools respond to students experiencing gender dysphoria. In many districts, policies have emerged that treat transgender identity as a matter between the student and the school, <a href="https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/protecting-children-from-social-transition-act">rather than between the child and their family</a>. Supporters argue that such policies protect vulnerable students. But the Court’s decision highlights a critical problem: removing parents from the conversation can undermine the very support systems children need most.
Parents are typically the first line of care when a child is struggling emotionally or psychologically. The Court recognized this reality, noting that <a href="https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/gender-dysphoria-and-the-social-transition-intervention">gender dysphoria</a> is a condition with significant <a href="https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/gender-dysphoria-and-the-social-transition-intervention">mental health implications</a>. When schools conceal information about a child’s confusion with their biological sex from parents, they risk shutting out those most responsible for providing guidance, counseling, and medical care.
The Court’s reasoning also exposes an uncomfortable truth that has been too often ignored in public policy debates: decisions about “gender” identity during adolescence can have profound and lasting consequences.
That reality becomes particularly important as more individuals speak openly about the experience of detransition — discontinuing gender transition procedures after coming to regret them. While research on detransition remains limited, emerging evidence suggests that some young people who went through so-called “gender affirming care” did so because of social pressure. Others say the real reason for their psychological distress was not addressed, and the transition process only further complicated their existing pain.
This is why parental involvement matters. Adolescence is a time of rapid emotional and cognitive development. Decisions made during that process should not occur in isolation from parents who are legally and morally responsible for their children’s welfare.
This week, advocates and researchers will observe Detransition Awareness Day on March 12. The day highlights the experiences of individuals who have reversed or questioned their earlier identification as transgender and seeks to promote better research and support for those navigating a similar path.
Their stories underscore an important point: the debate surrounding our biological sex is not simply theoretical. It involves real people whose lives are shaped by the policies adopted by schools, medical institutions, and governments.
Acknowledging detransition means recognizing the complexity of adolescent identity and the need for careful, responsible approaches that prioritize long-term well-being.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Mirabelli does not resolve every problem that surrounds the gender topic, but the ruling establishes a vital principle: parents cannot be treated as obstacles in their children’s lives. In fact, they are the opposite – parents are the people primarily responsible for guiding their children through the most difficult and formative stages of adolescence. To exclude them from decisions that carry permanent, harmful, and lasting consequences is contrary to the very concept of what it means to raise a child.
As the nation reflects on detransition and the broader questions surrounding the gender issue, policymakers would do well to remember what the Court reaffirmed this week — families matter, and parents deserve a seat at the table.
* * *
Dr. Jennifer Bauwens is America First Policy Institute’s Director of American Values.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Mother hold hand schoolboy walking to bus. Energetic pupils running crossway.

The Parent Trap: The Detransition Reality Schools Tried To Hide From Moms And Dads

California

Children

detransitioner

Opinion

Parental Rights in Education

Parenting

Parents rights

Supreme Court

Transgender

The Virginia General Assembly has now passed legislation regulating how public schools may teach about the events of January 6, 2021. If the bill becomes law, teachers discussing the topic will be required to present the events in a very specific way and prohibited from presenting certain viewpoints about the 2020 election.
Regardless of where one falls politically on those issues, the constitutional problem should be obvious. The First Amendment exists precisely to prevent the government from dictating what citizens must believe or say about matters of public debate. The government may adopt curriculum standards and decide what subjects are taught in public schools, but there is a significant difference between setting a curriculum and mandating a particular political or historical conclusion.
Specifically, the legislation provides that if a Virginia public school chooses to teach about the events of January 6, 2021, the instruction may not portray those events as a “peaceful protest.” It also prohibits teachers from presenting as credible any statement suggesting that there was widespread election fraud that could have changed the results of the 2020 presidential election. The statute goes even further by directing that the events must be described as an “unprecedented, violent attack on United States democratic institutions…for the purpose of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election.”
In practical terms, the law does two things at once. First, it prohibits certain viewpoints from being discussed as credible in the classroom. Second, it compels teachers to affirm a specific government-approved description of the event.
That distinction matters constitutionally.
The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear that the government cannot compel individuals to speak a government-approved message. From West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette in 1943 to more modern cases involving compelled speech, the Court has consistently held that the First Amendment protects citizens from being forced to adopt or express ideological viewpoints mandated by the state.
 This principle is not about whether one agrees with the government’s position. In fact, the entire point of the First Amendment is to protect speech that the government — or even the majority — dislikes.
Once the government is permitted to mandate the “correct” interpretation of a political event, the precedent is dangerous. Today it may be January 6. Tomorrow it could be any number of controversial historical topics. Ask yourself this – if you think HB333 is good – how would you feel if President Trump ordered the Department of Education to mandate all K-12 education that ICE never made mistakes and anyone protesting them were domestic terrorists? Or that Joe Biden was a puppet president lacking mental capability to make any legitimate decisions. No alternatives – just those narratives – in every school in America – no negotiation. I suspect if you are left of center that would make your blood boil – and it’s for these reasons that the Constitution does not allow the government to decide which political narratives are permitted and which must be suppressed.
It is also worth remembering that the role of education is not to enforce political consensus but to encourage critical thinking. Students should be exposed to evidence, debate, and competing interpretations of historical events. That is how a free society educates its citizens. A law that restricts discussion to one approved narrative does the opposite.
To be clear, none of this means schools must endorse every viewpoint or conspiracy theory. Teachers can and should teach facts supported by evidence. But that is different from a legislature commanding that one political interpretation must be presented and others may not even be discussed as credible.
When the government crosses that line, the courts exist to review whether the Constitution has been violated. If this bill becomes law, there is a strong argument that it raises serious First Amendment concerns involving compelled speech and viewpoint discrimination. Those issues deserve careful consideration by the judiciary rather than being resolved through legislative decree. The debate about January 6 will continue for many years, as debates about major historical events always do. But in a constitutional republic, those debates should occur through free discussion and scholarship — not through laws that attempt to enforce a single government-approved narrative.
The Constitution protects the right of Americans to disagree about politics, history, and public affairs. That protection applies even — and perhaps especially — when the government would prefer that disagreement disappear.
 * * * 
Timothy V. Anderson is an attorney and a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Abigail Spanberger Sworn In As Virginia Governor

Blue State Moves To Muzzle Oral History Of J6

January 6

Virginia

According to a new law, all public and private schools in Pennsylvania will be required to add cursive handwriting lessons into their curriculum beginning next month.
The bill was signed into law by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) last month and will take effect on April 12. It also had bipartisan support and passed the House 195‑8 and the Senate 42‑5 before being signed by the governor, according to <a href="https://www.fox29.com/news/pennsylvania-schools-will-be-required-teach-cursive-again-starting-april">Fox 29 Philadelphia.</a>
PA Senator and bill sponsor Wayne Langerholic (R) said in a statement that &#8220;by reintegrating cursive into the curriculum…we are investing in our students’ cognitive development, strengthening their legal preparedness and preserving their connection to historical literacy.&#8221;
&#8220;Cursive is more than handwriting. It’s a bridge,&#8221; Rep. Dane Watro (R), a cosponsor of the bill, said in a statement. &#8220;It connects us to our history, strengthens learning and deepens our understanding of the world. By teaching cursive, we’re equipping students with skills that sharpen the mind and safeguard our shared heritage.&#8221;
There’s been a big debate over cursive writing instruction ever since the Common Core Standards for public school education, which were adopted in 2010, did not include a cursive handwriting requirement. Those standards stressed printed writing and keyboard skills to be used for writing instead. 
One recent <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11943480/">study</a> found that cursive helps children with brain development. 
“The Neuroscience Behind Writing” found that “cursive writing involves greater activation of the motor cortex and cerebellum, as it requires fine motor coordination and smooth transitions between letters.” The report went on to note that, …this fluidity enhances memory retention and cognitive engagement, as the writer must anticipate the next letter in a continuous motion.”
Per the website <a href="https://mycursive.com/states-that-require-cursive-writing/#:~:text=Arizona,introduced%20as%20recently%20as%202022.)">MyCursive</a>, almost half of states still require or encourage cursive instruction in the classroom. That number has been steadily increasing over the years. 
New Jersey just updated their cursive writing requirements earlier this year as Governor Phil Murphy (D ) signed a cursive mandate into law just before leaving office in January. The new standards will go into effect next school year for students.
“We owe it to our students to give them a well-rounded education that ensures they have the tools to fully understand our rich history and become competent leaders,” Murphy said in a statement at the time, per the <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/01/20/us-news/nj-flips-script-mandates-teaching-cursive-writing-in-schools-starting-next-fall/">New York Post</a>.

cursive handwriting

Cursive Makes A Comeback In Pennsylvania Schools

Cursive Handwriting Instruction Will Be Required In Pennsylvania Schools

Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania

Schools

A Nashville charter school threatened a first-grade teacher with termination after he refused to read an LGBTQ book about same-sex marriage to his class, according to a legal advocacy group.
KIPP Antioch College Prep Elementary issued a “Final Warning” to Eric Rivera, a Christian first-grade teacher, after he declined to read a book featuring a same-sex married couple and child in the language arts curriculum, despite having no previous disciplinary history, according to First Liberty Institute.
Rivera requested a religious accommodation after discovering the LGBTQ book in the curriculum, according to a demand <a href="https://firstliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Eric-Rivera-FINAL-Demand-Letter62_Redacted.pdf">letter</a> First Liberty sent to KIPP Nashville on behalf of Rivera.
&#8220;Mr. Rivera asked a colleague to read the book to his class of first-graders, while he remained in the classroom to observe — a substitution that Mr. Rivera believed would be workable and accepted,” the demand letter said.
School officials denied his request, summoned him to the principal’s office, and threatened his job, the demand letter claims.
The “Final Warning” letter accused Rivera of failing to meet the “expectation” of teaching the curriculum “with fidelity” and said that as a result of his conduct, students would “miss content aligned with the scope of the unit” — even though a substitute teacher was still teaching the curriculum to students.
“[T]he principal indicated that the belief in same-sex marriage is so fundamental to the language arts unit that Mr. Rivera could not possibly be permitted to teach any portion of the unit, and therefore had to be removed from the first grade classroom,&#8221; according to First Liberty&#8217;s letter.
The school’s letter concluded with a further threat of disciplinary action, including termination, and stated, “A copy of this unsatisfactory notice is being placed in your personnel file.”
“Requiring a teacher violate their religious beliefs in order to keep their job is blatant discrimination that violates the Civil Rights Act,” <a href="https://firstliberty.org/media/nashville-first-grade-teacher-banished-from-classroom-after-asking-accommodation-from-pro-same-sex-marriage-book/">said</a> Cliff Martin, Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute. “Our client cares deeply about his students and simply has a religious objection to teaching certain lessons and asked for a simple religious accommodation. The school has sent the message that anyone who has a traditional view of marriage is unfit to teach first grade.”
First Liberty accused the school of potentially violating Tennessee law by failing to disclose two books listed in the &#8220;LGBTQ+ Books&#8221; category on Amazon to parents.
&#8220;Both of the books to which Mr. Rivera objected require parental notification under Tennessee law, and to our knowledge, none was given. Accordingly, based on our understanding of KIPP’s practices, KIPP should review whether it is in compliance with its obligations to parents under Tennessee and federal law,&#8221; the letter said.
First Liberty’s letter to the school on behalf of Rivera demands that KIPP remove the &#8220;Final Warning&#8221; from Rivera&#8217;s personnel file, cease religious discrimination, and commit to accommodating religious employees who object to reading materials that conflict with their faith.

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Nashville Charter School Threatened To Fire First-Grade Teacher For Refusing To Read LGBTQ Book

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