Culture Wars in the U.S. Education System

Good Day!

This newsletter is going to be a little different for this week. Education has always been somewhat political, with arguments from the left and right “proposing” ideas about what is best for students. In the last few years, there have been laws and regulations concerning issues around LGBQT, race, religion, and free expression. This culture war can be seen throughout the K-12 education system and up to the higher education systems. To get you up to speed, let’s run through the “culture wars” that have been brewing in states nationwide.

Cheers ☕

Alabama

SB129 is a bill dubbed the "divisive" concepts bill. Its aim is to prevent or prohibit public colleges and universities from sponsoring and maintaining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices and programs and from promoting them. The Bill also outlines how restrooms should be designated and used by individuals based on their biological sex. Although not explicitly stated, Critical Race Theory seems to be targeted so as not to be explored and discussed at the university level.

California

Governor Gavin Newsome signed into law that will prevent forced outings of LGBQT students by any school board policy or rule and any administrative regulation. The Bill, AB 1955, is being dubbed The SAFETY Act. Districts are prevented from telling parents whether their child is choosing to identify differently from their biological sex, gender identity, preferred pronouns, or gender expression without having the student's consent to do so. The Liberty Justice Center is currently challenging the Bill. Emily Rae, a Senior Counsel at Liberty Justice Center, stated, "School officials do not have the right to keep secrets from parents, but parents do have the constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school…We will continue to defend parents' rights and children's well-being by challenging invasive laws like AB 1955…"

Florida

Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a law allowing religious chaplains to act as school counselors. Lucien Greaves, the current leader of the Satanic Temple, is challenging this Bill. Greaves stated that because of how the Bill is worded, they are not excluded from offering their services. "Should a school district now choose to have chaplains, they should expect Satanists to participate as well." We wrote about him in our newsletter last month.

Minnesota

Book banning has been widespread across the U.S., particularly in predominantly red states like Idaho and Florida. In June, Minnesota Governor and current Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz signed a law prohibiting book bans at schools and libraries. To see where and how many books have been banned, click here.

Idaho

Book banning has been going across the U.S. in predominantly red states like Idaho and Florida (deja vu?). In Idaho, Governor Brad Little signed a law that bans material whether those are books, movies, or comics - that describe or depict nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse from being in schools as well as public libraries.

Also, he signed a law that prohibits school employees from using a trans student's preferred pronoun without parental consent. Teachers, though, will be allowed to refuse to use a trans' students preferred name or pronoun if they so choose.

Indiana

Senate Bill 202 is a controversial bill that was passed earlier this year. One of the major pushbacks is that the Bill seeks a review process for tenured faculty members every five years. The Bill is touted to ensure that there is ideological diversity at the university level. SB 202 claims that it promotes a "neutral" environment, but in reality, it may add a layer of political bias where none existed. For example, Amendment #19 states, "Provides that a student enrolled in a health profession education program may not be required to receive an immunization as a condition of (1) participating in; or (2) obtaining; clinical training or clinical experience required by the program." Indiana University is one of the largest medical schools in the U.S., and now it is no longer a requirement to believe in medicine to get into medical school.

Iowa

Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2435, which includes the ban on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices and positions to be established in the state. Restrictions also include programs that provide any type of "special benefits" for people of different races. There is also an effort to ban any promotion concerning implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, ideology, microaggressions, antiracism, racial privilege, sexual privilege, and gender theory. To top it off, there is a ban on books that depict any sexual reference, references to sexual orientation, or gender identity in classroom instructions.

Kansas

A law went into effect without Governor Laura Kelly's approval that bans colleges and universities from requiring students and faculty to express their personal views on DEI programs. Governor Kelly also signed a bill that bans healthcare providers from administering drugs or tests without parental consent.

Louisiana

Governor Jeff Landry signed numerous laws that will significantly impact K-12 students and teachers. Teachers are now prohibited from discussing gender and sexual orientation in their classrooms. Teachers are not permitted to use the preferred pronoun of students or their preferred name if students identify as trans; therefore, teachers are allowed to refuse to use a trans student's preferred name or pronoun, even with parental consent. Lastly, there is a ban on trans students from using bathrooms that don't match their sex assigned at birth on school grounds.

Mississippi

In lockstep with numerous red states, Governor Tate Reeves signed a bill that prohibits trans students from using bathrooms that do not match their sex assigned at birth.

New Hampshire

Governor Chris Sununu signed into law that bars transgender girls from competing on girls' sports teams beginning at grade 5 through 12th grade.

South Carolina

Governor Henry McMaster signed a bill into law that requires employees and faculty members to notify a student's parents or legal guardian if the student requests to be referred to by a pronoun that differs from their design at birth.

Tennessee

Governor Bill Lee signed a bill into law that includes the following:

• It prohibits healthcare providers from administering medication or any type of psychological or counseling services without the parent's consent, with a few exceptions.

• Public school employees cannot withhold information about a student from their parents regarding their child's physical, mental, and emotional health.

• Public school employees must also notify parents if a student requests to use a name other than what they were given or a pronoun other than what the student's sex was assigned at birth.

• Parents can also have their child abstain from being exposed to material concerning sexual orientation and gender identity.

Utah

Several controversial bills were signed by Governor Spencer Cox in the past several months that are fueling the cultural war. First, one Bill that was signed into law requires a book to be removed if 1) school officials from at least three different school districts or 2) at least two school districts and five charter schools determine a book as containing "objective sensitive material. This has led to the banning of books from prominent authors, including Judy Blue (Forever), Margaret Atwood (Oryx and Crake), and Sarah J. Maas, with six books banned out of the current thirteen total.

Also banned are any DEI programs as well as demographic-based scholarships and initiatives, along with any programs that encourage discussion on privilege based on gender or race, social-political power structures, sex, race, and gender.

Closing Bell

On this day in 1920…

The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified guaranteeing women the right to vote. The rest, is history.