According to the report, the most common reason teachers cut back on some forms of education was fear that school and district leaders would not support them if parents raised concerns. Teachers working in politically conservative areas are more likely to censor themselves.
“Regardless of the presence or type of restrictions, teachers limit instruction for fear of upsetting parents, and school and district leaders provide support when parents raise concerns,” the report said. “He said he was unsure whether he would be able to do so.”
The RAND Corporation report is based on the following findings: The latest State of America's Teachers survey has been available since 2021 and is funded in part by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.
This data comes as the United States faces intense debate over how to teach and communicate history to the youngest generations of Americans and how to describe our society. Since the coronavirus pandemic, at least 14 states have enacted 18 laws that put guardrails on what children learn about race, and at least eight states censor or ban discussion of gender identity, sexuality, and LGBTQ subjects. The Post reported that they have enacted 15 laws to do so.
Meanwhile, the growing parent rights movement has some moms and dads across the country scrutinizing what their children are learning and reading in school, often filing book challenges. A Post analysis of more than 1,000 book objections filed nationwide in the 2021-22 school year finds that LGBTQ books are rapidly becoming a prime target for parents, with sexually explicit content making up the largest number of book objections. It turned out to be the reason.
At the same time, thousands of school districts have adopted their own policies that limit what teachers can discuss with students about race, sex, gender, and history. The Rand Corporation report found that these local restrictions were a major factor in teachers' decisions to limit classroom teaching on political and social topics.
About half of the teachers surveyed reported working in states where discussion of race and gender is restricted or subject to local regulations, according to the report. Of the teachers who said they faced local bans, more than 8 in 10 reported having their teaching censored, and many reported they feared losing their teaching job or teaching license. It was revealed in the book.
Nevertheless, the majority of teachers who live in places where there are no state or local policies regulating classroom instruction also report choosing not to talk about certain high-profile issues. 55 percent did so, the report found. The report also found that teachers in this category were more likely to limit teaching if they lived in counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump in 2020.
The survey was conducted among a national sample of 1,439 public school teachers in January and February 2023 through the Rand America Teacher Panel. Members of this panel were initially recruited through a stratified random sample of school principals and teachers.
