The number of “educational orders” has increased by 250% compared to 2021, according to PEN America, a non-profit organization working to protect free speech in the US, as Republican lawmakers have tried to censor debate about race and LGBTQ+ issues from the classroom. According to PEN, 137 of the gag orders, which it defines as “state legislative efforts to limit the teaching of topics such as race, gender, American history, and LGBTQ+ identities in K-12 and higher education,” have introduced in 36 states. so far this year. In 2021 the organization registered 54 order accounts in 22 states. “It’s undeniable that things have gotten worse,” said Jeremy Young, PEN’s senior director of free expression and education. “Attacks on education, on teachers, have become more coordinated and more dangerous. Escalation is the word that defines what we see. This is a series of increasingly harsh and dangerous attacks on teachers, educators and the education system.” PEN found that gender identity has become a growing focus for conservative lawmakers. From early January this year to mid-August, 23 bills have been introduced that would restrict how educators can discuss gender identity. There is also an increased focus on punishments for discussing forbidden topics, with stiff fines proposed for schools, universities and teachers themselves. Young said a major reason for the rise in legislation is a “bandwagon effect.” A minority of the 137 education order bills have been passed into law. But the backdrop of conservatives fighting for classroom censorship and the threat of possible punishment at some point in the future may still serve as a looming threat for teachers and school administrators. “There is some evidence that attacks on public education are resonating particularly with conservative voters,” Young said. “So now, instead of attacks on public education just being the province of people who have always fought public education for social reasons, cultural reasons, or because they support private schools or homeschooling, now there’s this bandwagon effect where almost every conservative legislator feels some pressure to support or propose or pass these bills.” The bills, introduced by conservative lawmakers, hardly represent public demand. More than 70% of parents are satisfied with the education their children are receiving, according to a 2021 Gallup poll. Earlier this year, an NPR survey found that less than 20% of parents are dissatisfied with the way their children are taught about gender, sexuality and race. Missouri had the most gag bills in 2022, but Florida had more success passing legislation, Young said. In March, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, signed a bill called “don’t say gay” into law. The heavily criticized legislation restricts teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, while the state also passed a law placing restrictions on discussing race and racism. Separately, DeSantis signed a law in May mandating that students receive at least 45 minutes of instruction each November about “victims of communism.” Young said the legislation is often characterized by vague prohibitions, rather than providing details about what teachers can and cannot say and teach. Florida’s gay bill, for example, states in part: “Classroom teaching by school personnel or third parties about sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age or developmentally appropriate for students according to state standards.” Classroom teaching is undefined and, as the New York Times noted, could mean “eliminating classroom books with LGBTQ+ characters or historical figures.” Likewise, no guidance is given on what “classroom discussion” actually means and could be interpreted by teachers to mean, as the Times put it: “A student with gay parents should not talk about these families with the whole the class”. “Ambiguity is the point,” Young said. “Because the more vague the bills are, the more self-censorship will go on, the more scared teachers will be, and the more scared administrators will be. “So it’s absolutely by design — it’s the plan to put teachers and administrators on the defensive, to put them on their toes, to make it so that they don’t go anywhere near potentially prohibited concepts.”
