AMERICANS OPPOSE BOOK BANS AND SUPPORT TEACHING HONEST HISTORY

71% of likely voters oppose local school board banning books in public schools and the majority of Americans, including the majority of parents, support teaching honest history including about slavery as the cause of the Civil War (70%), Jim Crow (56%), and the history of racism in the U.S. (57%).

PARENTS FEEL WELL-INFORMED ABOUT CURRICULA 

Just 18% of parents say their child's school taught about gender and sexuality in a way that clashed with their family's values; just 19% say the same about race and racism; and just 14% feel that way about U.S. history.  76% of respondents agree that "my child's school does a good job keeping me informed about the curriculum, including potentially controversial topics."

SCHOOLS SERVING STUDENTS OF COLOR ARE UNDER-FUNDED

The Education Trust found that schools serving the largest populations of Black, Latino, or Indigenous students received about 13% less funding than those serving the fewest students of color.  For a school district with 5,000 students, that’s $9 million lost every year. Schools serving low-income students are similarly underfunded but the gap in funding cannot be explained by income alone. 

WE ARE FACING A TEACHER RESIGNATION CRISIS 

Half of teachers are considering leaving the profession, driven by low pay, the stress of the pandemic, school safety, and the current partisan attacks on school curriculum.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS OPPOSE ATTACKS ON LGBTQ+ CHILDREN

Two-thirds of Americans oppose bills that restrict the rights of transgender people and the majority oppose bills that attack trans children, including bans on trans children participating in sports and on gender-affirming medical care.

BLACK STUDENTS AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES TARGETED BY THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE 

Since 2013, close to 300,000 children under the age of 12 have been arrested, and nearly half of public schools are patrolled by police officers. Black students are three times as likely to be arrested as white students, and in some states, Black girls are eight times more to be arrested as white girls. Students with disabilities are nearly three times as likely to be arrested as their non-disabled peers.

SCHOOL MEALS ARE AN ESSENTIAL ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAM

Prior to the pandemic, 33.2 million children received free or reduced-price meals. After Congress and President Biden expanded eligibility to all children, school meals helped families survive the worst of the pandemic. The program—and expansions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—lifted 3.2 million adults and children out of poverty in 2020.

Seize the moral high ground and engage on our terms. With attention on education, let’s talk about the teaching and curricula we support and desire.

Our schools must treat every child as equal, especially in situations of conflict. 

When educators, parents, and students come together, we can win major progress for our kids and for public education.

Instead of repeating the opposition (e.g. “we are NOT teaching grade schoolers about XYZ”), talk about why they are attacking teachers and accurate curriculum and use specific examples.

Teachers should have the freedom to teach the honest, complete facts about historical topics like…

Our kids should learn our full history – the good and the bad – so they can learn from the past and build a better future  

Removing books from the curriculum that deal with subjects like Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington or the Civil Rights Movement is wrong.

Building our future and a greater understanding of each other begins with giving our children an education that includes America’s whole story, where we teach the uncensored truth to prepare them for both school and life. Anything less fails our children. They deserve to learn about and from all communities, to break down stereotypes, and celebrate our shared story.

Don’t volunteer the term “critical race theory,” an academic concept the right has co-opted as an all-purpose dog whistle, but when asked directly about it, define critical race theory on our terms as the honest, up-to-date education students deserve.  

Respond to attacks with strength, assertiveness, and passion. Talk about what we want and what we oppose in real examples. 

No teacher should face lawsuits or arrest just for doing their jobs and teaching the truth.

Our kids should be able to feel safe and supported at school.  No teacher or counselor should have to turn in a kid for confiding in them.

Our public schools work best when parents and teachers collaborate on what children need. Forcing teachers to post lesson plans months in advance, creating hotlines to report on teachers, creating the possibility of lawsuits just for doing their job, and even putting cameras in classrooms will have a devastating effect on the teaching profession.  Threats and additional burdens will just force passionate, caring teachers out of the classroom.

School is a place where childhood happens. 

Most of us believe that every child, whatever their color, background or zip code, has the right to learn in a supportive environment that respects their humanity, upholds their dignity, and responds fairly to mistakes and mis-steps. 

We make the future, and by joining together – parents and teachers, Black, white, and brown – we can make every neighborhood public school a place where all children can learn, grow, and thrive.

NEXT: TOOLS + RESOURCES ↓