Censoring Curriculum in Schools

Updated Nov. 25, 2024

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Protesters against critical race theory in June 2021 in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Photo Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Introduction

Schools and universities have long been battlegrounds for high-stakes disputes about free speech in the U.S. Tensions in recent years, however, have stemmed less from the misadventures of inflammatory guest speakers or uncouth staff, but from something much more fundamental: what students are taught. PEN America, a free-expression advocacy group, identified eight “educational gag orders” – or direct restrictions on classroom speech – enacted in 2024; they also reported five additional policies that indirectly endanger academic freedom in higher education. This brings the total to 47 educational gag orders and 10 higher education restrictions passed between January 1, 2021, and October 1,  2024.

Amidst such findings, public school boards and state governments over the years have also restricted specific books from being taught in their classrooms or circulating in school libraries. Conservative lawmakers, the chief architects of these bills, claim they’re protecting American youth from a “radical” and “un-American” educational agenda. But their opponents see something far more sinister: a crass attempt to suppress subjects and perspectives that challenge tidy, simplistic, and exclusionary narratives of the American experience.

Case Study—Critical Race Theory

What is ‘Critical Race Theory’ (CRT)?
Why do people care about it?

Bans & Pushback

 

This Brookings Institution blog post provides a helpful (if slightly outdated) list of legislation from the local, state and federal level attempting to limit the teaching of race-sensitive topics in schools. Read through some curriculum censorship laws from…

As of 2024, many more states have passed laws or implemented policies restricting the teaching of Critical Race Theory, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia

Take a look at some federal proposals

Take a look at some lawsuits in opposition to restrictions on CRT and other curriculum

  • Black Emergency Response Team v. O’Connor, The ACLU, October 2021
  • Mejia et al v. Edelblut et al, GLAD Law, December 2021
  • Few legal challenges to laws limiting lessons on race, gender The Washington Post, March 2023
  • Mae M. v Komrosky, Education Week, August 2023
  • School District’s Anti-CRT Resolution Prompts Lawsuit From Teachers and Students, EducationWeek, August 2023
  • Central High plaintiffs sue Sanders, Oliva over targeting of AP African American Studies, Arkansas Times, March 2024
  • Judge hears arguments in Arkansas LEARNS indoctrination case, NPR, October 2024

Changing attitudes and actions toward CRT

Related Incidents from the Tracker

In January 2022, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin launched an email tip line in which parents were able to report “divisive practices” being employed by teachers in the state’s public schools. Ultimately, the tipline was shut down. 

Point / Counterpoint


Discussion Questions

  1. Why do you think CRT, an otherwise obscure legal theory, has become the crux of such a heated national debate surrounding education? Why now?
  2. What do you make of conservative diatribes against CRT and similarly ‘divisive’ topics? Are they little more than cynical attempts to suppress discussions about oppressive dynamics and unsavory moments from the country’s past? How might you sympathize with their concerns? 
  3. How should American history be taught? What narratives and incidents should be prioritized, and why? 
  4. Are there any topics that should be added and covered more in educational curricula? If so, justify their inclusion. 
  5. Are there any topics that should be excluded from educational curricula? If so, justify their exclusion. 
  6. How have past educational standards for American history shaped people’s perceptions of the country? How are current standards shaping people’s perceptions? What standards would you change or keep for the future?
  7. Who should get to determine what is (or isn’t) taught in schools? Legislatures, school boards, parents, individual teachers? 


Activity

Click on these themes below: Artistic Expression + Legal Action

Discuss: What does this confluence of stories with these filters tell us about Free Speech issues surrounding educational requirements and curriculum development?

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