![]() The evidence shows that educational gag orders, which are often vaguely worded and erratically enforced, force teachers to self-censor, even beyond the wording of applicable laws. At the same time, educational gag orders threaten to weaken public school systems and public universities, as educators leave, research grants are denied, and schools and universities struggle to recruit top talent. Educators across the country - from kindergarten teachers to college professors, music teachers to neuroscientists - report fearing government censorship for doing their jobs. These analyses, taken together, paint a clear picture of a crisis in American education. In the past year, a number of national and state studies have documented their effects. ![]() While millions of individual educators and students have felt the effects of these laws, the full scope of their impact is just starting to come into focus. Padrón is the former president of Miami Dade College. Make no mistake: This is censorship at work.Įduardo J. This year, Florida doubled down, extending its ban on discussing gender identity up to 12th grade, and passing a new law that puts politicians and political appointees in charge of university mission statements and governance - all in an attempt to suppress diversity, equity and inclusion programming. Last year, my state passed the two most draconian educational gag orders in the nation: a law banning all mention of homosexuality or gender identity in K-3 classrooms, and another restricting classroom instruction about race and gender in schools, colleges and even private institutions. ![]() population.Īs a former president of a public college in Florida - the largest degree-granting institution in the nation - I have experienced these attacks firsthand. According to PEN America’s new analysis, there are now 36 educational gag orders in force across 21 states, affecting at least 1.4 million public school teachers and 100,000 public college and university faculty, in states that are collectively home to over a third of the U.S. This deluge of educational gag orders have sought not just to shape school curricula but to punish and intimidate educators. These legislative proposals censor the teaching of race and slavery in American schools, classroom acknowledgement of LGBTQ+ identity, and the very foundations of academic independence in higher education. It has now been three years since a wave of legislative attacks began to sweep American state legislatures - a wave that has never let up.
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