The frontal assault on education is escalating across the country, affecting both K-12 schools and higher education institutions. From legislative bans to administrative compliance, we are witnessing an unprecedented attack on the core values of education—academic freedom, inclusive learning, and professional autonomy. These actions don’t just impact individual educators; they weaken entire schools, districts, and universities by censoring curriculum, restricting what can be taught, limiting student access to critical knowledge, and undermining the very structures that support teaching and learning. Whether in classrooms, lecture halls, or research spaces, educators at all levels are facing a coordinated effort to reshape education through political interference—one that we must actively resist.
These attacks aren’t new. K-12 educators have been on the front lines of this battle for years, facing curriculum censorship, book bans, and the manufactured outrage over critical race theory. We wrote about this in our article Illusion of Inclusion for the Harvard Educational Review more than a decade ago. What’s changed is that these attacks are now targeting higher education with a force not seen since McCarthyism. This time, they come not only with ideological bans but also with financial threats to grants—real cuts to NSF, NIH, IES, and other major funding agencies. This isn’t just about rhetoric; it’s about dismantling entire systems of research, knowledge production, and faculty governance.
In moments like these, leadership matters. Institutions need bold, strategic, and principled leaders who understand these threats and know how to navigate them—not just to defend against them, but to proactively shape the future of education. Educators are looking for direction, and the response must be more than just rhetoric—it must be action.
In response to the growing concerns from educators across the nation, I’ve compiled answers to pressing questions on organizing, legal action, faculty rights, and resisting anti-DEI mandates. We must ensure that education remains a space of intellectual freedom, critical inquiry, and equity for all students, staff, and faculty. As an ideas and strategy person, I want to offer a few practical approaches for educators navigating these challenges. I have received the following questions from educators grappling with these urgent issues, and I am glad to address them in the blog today. Read on for a Q&A covering strategies, legal insights, and organizing tactics that educators and students can use to push back. Let’s fight smarter, not just harder—because the future of education depends on it.
Can educators organize to file class action lawsuits against the federal or state government? Can we form a union?
Educators at all levels—K-12 and higher education—can and should organize to challenge government overreach when it occurs, particularly when it infringes upon academic freedom, curriculum integrity, and educators’ rights. The legal landscape is shifting, but coordinated legal challenges through organizations like the ACLU, AAUP (for higher ed), NEA and AFT (for K-12), NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and other advocacy groups are possible and in some cases active and pending.
The power of unionization depends on state labor laws. Many K-12 educators already have unions, but those in states with restrictions on collective bargaining can explore other means of advocacy, such as professional associations or local coalitions. In higher education, faculty at public institutions can often form unions, while those at private institutions or in anti-union states should also rely on faculty senates and professional organizations to protect their rights.
Can educators share information and sponsor affinity groups for students? How can information be created and shared to reach all students?
K-12 teachers and higher education faculty both have the ability—legally and ethically—to foster spaces where students can learn, connect, and organize. If direct sponsorship is restricted due to anti-DEI policies, educators can:
- Encourage student-run initiatives with outside organizational support.
- Use alternative communication methods, such as independent newsletters, student-led social media, or mentorship networks.
- Partner with community-based organizations, nonprofits, and libraries that provide DEI-related programming.
Access to information is power, and educators should explore every available channel to ensure students are informed, connected, and supported.
Do academic freedom and other rights extend to graduate students and early-career educators who teach?
In higher education, graduate students who teach have a de facto right to academic freedom, but their protections vary by institution and state law. Many are organizing for union recognition to secure better protections.
For K-12 educators, early-career teachers (such as those in alternative certification programs or on probationary contracts) may have fewer protections than tenured teachers, making unionization and advocacy even more critical. In both K-12 and higher ed, educators who lack tenure or union representation need stronger collective support to ensure they can teach freely without fear of retaliation.
Given many educational leaders silence and acquiescence to anti-DEI policies, how do we equip ourselves and our students to continue our work effectively?
Silence is complicity. Educators must organize across districts, universities, and national associations to push back. This means:
- Building local resistance networks among teachers, professors, students, and staff.
- Engaging in legal and political advocacy to challenge restrictive policies at the school board, state, and national levels.
- Researching, documenting and publicizing the real impact of these attacks on students and learning environments.
- Leveraging professional organizations and accreditation bodies that can put pressure on institutions.
Educators are not powerless, resistance must be coordinated, strategic, and relentless.
How should I navigate national DEI-related committee work given state-level bans?
Keep doing the work. National organizations (e.g., NEA, AFT, AAUP, MLA, NCTE) are not bound by state-level restrictions. If necessary, educators can:
- Advocate for national committees to issue formal statements in support of DEI. For example, I helped organize this Defending the Freedom to Learn statement.
- Frame DEI-related work in ways that align with accreditation, student success, and educational outcomes.
- Ensure that national organizations understand and document the impact of these bans.
- Be a voice for the values of DEI on committees in school and university settings, emphasizing how DEI initiatives expand opportunities, improve student success, and create inclusive learning environments that benefit ALL students.
K-12 and higher ed educators alike need national allies to continue this work.
How can we advocate for curriculum integrity and student support when administration tells us to “change” what we do?
When educational leadership tries to restrict research or teaching:
- Ensure transparency in how these policies are implemented, and challenge vague or overreaching mandates.
- Use professional organizations (AAUP, NEA, ASA, MLA, etc.) to issue statements in support of academic independence.
- Leverage faculty and teacher governance structures to push back formally.
- File grievances if violations of the contract occur, ensuring that contractual protections for academic freedom, curriculum integrity, and educator rights are upheld.
Educational leaders often respond to legal and public pressure. Educators need to make it clear that academic censorship has consequences.
How do new policies impact the selection of texts for future classes?
Book bans and curriculum restrictions are increasing at both the K-12 and higher ed levels. Educators should:
- Frame curriculum and textbook choices under academic rigor and accreditation standards to make restrictions harder to justify.
- Use alternative resources, including open-access and international texts that may not be subject to state bans.
- Work with national publishers and academic organizations to track and resist censorship efforts.
If a school district or university implements bans, educators should document and publicize the impact of these policies.
What rights have educators lost or stand to lose in the current climate?
The biggest threats include:
- Erosion of tenure and job protections, making it easier to dismiss educators for ideological reasons.
- Censorship of curriculum and research, particularly in history, social sciences, and literature.
- Restrictions on educator governance, centralizing power in politically influenced educational leaders.
- Limitations on external funding, restricting grants and partnerships related to DEI or race-related education.
What happens when some educators retain protections, but staff who support them do not?
Educators cannot function without the support staff who provide research assistance, curriculum development, and student support services. The silencing of staff weakens academic freedom by eroding the infrastructure that upholds it. Addressing this requires:
- Coalition-building between educators and staff unions/advocacy groups.
- Highlighting staff dependence in governance discussions.
- Raising awareness about how restricting staff protections is a direct attack on education itself.
I teach in a WGST or Ethnic Studies program. I fear new policies will force us to close. How can we resist?
K-12 and higher ed programs that focus on gender, race, and social justice are prime targets. Resistance strategies include:
- Frame course content in ways that attract and engage more students, emphasizing interdisciplinary connections and relevance to their lived experiences. Cross-list courses under broader, high-enrollment departments while maintaining critical perspectives and themes.
- Build allies and alliances across disciplines to integrate courses into required core curriculum offerings, ensuring that key themes and perspectives reach a broader student population while securing long-term course enrollment and institutional support.
- Call upon community organizations, advocacy groups, and local institutions to support and endorse these programs, highlighting their impact on student success and workforce readiness. Partner with civic organizations, cultural institutions, and professional associations to strengthen program visibility and legitimacy.
How do we get senior educators and administrators to step up and resist rather than capitulate?
Tenured faculty, experienced K-12 teachers, and senior administrators must use their influence to protect those with fewer protections. Strategies include:
- Forming educator coalitions that issue public statements and challenge administrative compliance.
- Refusing and encouraging other to refuse to serve on rubber-stamp committees that enforce anti-DEI policies.
- Mentoring and amplifying the voices of vulnerable educators, adjuncts, and graduate students.
How do we pressure administrators to stand up against anti-DEI and extremist movements?
Educational institutions respond to reputation and financial pressures. Tactics include:
- Targeted social and new media campaigns to expose inaction or problematic decisions.
- Engagement with alumni, donors, and accreditation bodies to exert pressure.
- Coalition-building across districts and universities to create national resistance.
- Organize no-confidence votes to hold leadership accountable for capitulating to external political pressure that undermines academic freedom and DEI.
Final Thoughts: How Do We Push Back?
The question isn’t if we should push back on behalf of education’s mission and student success—it’s how. Strategies include:
- Commit to collective resistant and build strong coalitions across educators, staff, students, and national organizations to unify efforts and amplify impact.
- Pursue legal action through educator unions, civil rights organizations, and other advocacy groups to challenge unjust policies from political interference.
- Engage in public advocacy through media, alumni networks, accreditation bodies, and high-profile endorsements to pressure institutions and policymakers.
- Mobilize philanthropic support from foundations and major donors committed to academic freedom, equity, and social justice to sustain and expand resistance efforts.
Unfortunately, we are facing a coordinated, well-funded, and carefully orchestrated assault on education at all levels. Our response must be just as strategic, just as relentless, and just as uncompromising.
Our North Star must always be student success and opportunity. We cannot allow political actors to interfere with the core mission of education simply to serve election cycles or political agendas. Higher education exists to empower students, expand knowledge, and create pathways for a better future. We must stand firm in that mission—resisting censorship, defending academic freedom, and ensuring that all students have access to the education they deserve.