At the ACLU, we know that students’ First Amendment rights don’t disappear at the schoolhouse gates. However, the Trump administration is attempting to challenge this and other constitutional rights by forcing schools to teach a curriculum that aligns with its political agenda.
This radical abuse of executive power follows more than four years of similar censorship efforts at the state and local level that have restricted, or prohibited, instruction about American history, race and gender. Terms like “indoctrination” and “cultural Marxism” are often trotted out to justify banning content from BIPOC or queer authors, and about the Black experience and LGBTQ life. From the Oval Office to local school libraries, educational censorship efforts have direct impacts on how students across the country are learning about our world.
“How can I expect these kids to interact with me as a human being, or view me as one, when they aren’t taught the history of anyone besides themselves?”
