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It’s not your father’s education system anymore — or even your own. Parents and students must be aware of the growing effort within schools and universities to advance radical ideologies designed to undermine natural law, separate families, and reshape societal values.
As the school bells ring in the 2024 academic year, parents and students alike find themselves navigating a landscape vastly different from what previous generations encountered.
At one time, prayer in schools was a daily ritual. It was a moment for students and teachers to reflect, seek guidance, and anchor their day in a higher purpose. But prayer was removed in the name of the separation of church and state. It was relegated to the private and personal, stripped from the public square. This action was justified by appealing to religious neutrality. What followed, however, was anything but neutral.
In place of prayer or even basic academics, a new wave of curriculum changes has swept through our schools. These changes don’t focus on spiritual development. Instead, they emphasize gender identity and sexual orientation. What started as sex education to promote health has morphed into something more pervasive — an aggressive push of the LGBTQIA+ agenda, with our children as the primary targets. Some teachers are now more motivated to teach Critical Race Theory (CRT), Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), and other progressive political ideologies as they are about teaching reading, math, and science. This shift represents a dramatic reorientation of the values being imparted to the next generation, often clashing with the beliefs of many families.
Today, parents face a daunting array of policies and trends that challenge their rights and their children’s well-being. These developments aren’t isolated. They’re part of a broader agenda to reshape the values taught in schools.
As this new school year begins, it’s crucial for parents to stay vigilant and informed. Below are the key policies conservatives and Christians should be aware of as they navigate this complex and constantly morphing educational terrain.
Today’s public schools are advancing a number of leftist and sexual ideologies in public and even some private schools, but it’s not just through curriculum and classroom interactions. Two recent moves by the government are major threats to parental authority and the right of parents to be informed and make all pertinent decisions regarding their child’s physical and mental well-being while at school.
California recently passed what it calls the SAFETY Act, or the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth Act. As with many public policy initiatives, the law’s name is misleading. In “safeguarding children,” the policy assumes that parents don’t have their child’s best interests at heart, especially if they learn that their son or daughter has started identifying as a different gender while at school.
Signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, the SAFETY Act prohibits schools from informing parents about a student’s change in gender identity or sexual orientation without the student’s consent. Set to take effect in January, this law claims to protect the privacy of transgender and gender-nonconforming students, particularly those who may not feel safe at home.
Supporters say that the law safeguards student rights, but in reality, it undermines parental authority. It deepens the divide between families and the educational system. Moreover, as gender identity becomes the prevailing topic, schools have a captive audience of vulnerable students, and the potential consequences could be severe. This law has sparked legal challenges and intense debate, stripping parents of their right to know and make informed decisions for their children.
It is considered so extreme that Elon Musk, CEO of X and SpaceX, announced he was immediately relocating his business operations out of California, attributing his decision to the SAFETY ACT, which he called the “final straw.”
Musk’s move is a direct response to what he perceives as a hostile environment toward family values and parental rights. While Musk has the resources to relocate, most parents remain stuck, grappling with relentless transgender indoctrination in schools that lack transparency and recourse.
During the 2023 school year, California educated approximately 5.8 million students, the largest number of students in the country. If the SAFETY Act survives legal challenges in court, it will spread, marginalizing traditional values and further eroding parental rights across the country.
In April 2024, the Biden administration announced new rules governing the enforcement of the Title IX Amendment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As a result, Title IX, which was passed in 1972 to ban discrimination against female students based on their sex, has been expanded to include gender identity and sexual orientation as a protected class.
That means males who identify as female can use the bathroom, locker room, showers, and other private spaces of their choice. It also expands the definition of sexual harassment to include, for example, refusing to use the preferred pronouns of a transgender student. If charged for this reason, a male or female student would be tried under a university-run tribunal without constitutional due process rights, such as the right to a lawyer and the right to confront the witnesses against them.
The good news is that Title IX has already been successfully challenged in the courts, with injunctions currently in place for 26 states. The law was also challenged by three parent and student advocacy organizations: Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation, and Female Athletes United. As a result, any school that has a member or child of a member of these three organizations, even if it’s located in one of the remaining 24 states, is enjoined from enforcing the new Title IX rules.
What should students and parents who live or attend school in those 24 states that didn’t challenge the new rules? Four things:
1) Check to see if your school is exempt as a result of the injunction put in place by U.S. District Court Judge John Broom by contacting any of these three organizations: Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation, and Female Athletes United.
2) If your school is exempt, pay close attention and be sure that administrators aren’t secretly allowing some of the rules to take effect, such as letting males use female restrooms or forcing or shaming students into using preferred pronouns.
3) If your school must adhere to the new rules, you should be in continual communication with your child about how the new rules are affecting them at school, while also seriously considering other options. For parents, this might mean homeschooling your child or sending them to a private Christian school (but do your homework to determine their policy on this issue). College students might consider transferring to a different school that is in a state where the rule is blocked or that has a built-in religious exemption, such as Liberty University.
4) The Title IX injunctions are currently temporary, so keep close tabs on what’s happening with those court cases in your state (the Freedom Center will routinely run updates). Many of these cases will be judged on their merits during oral arguments, beginning in October at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
You can learn more about Title IX and its potential impact on Christian students and parents by reading Freedom Center articles here and here.
Sex education in public schools has long been a contentious issue in the U.S. However, recent updates to state standards, such as those in North Carolina, have amplified concerns. Around 43.6 percent of secondary schools in North Carolina included education on gender roles, identity, or expression in their mandatory curriculum, reaching students as young as 12.
Conservative parents argue that these standards infringe on their rights to direct their children’s education. They believe these lessons expose children to ideas that conflict with their family’s beliefs. As more states adopt similar standards, the fight over sex education will likely intensify.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, as of 2023, 29 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education. Additionally, 22 states require that sex education include information on sexual orientation and gender identity. The widespread adoption of comprehensive sex education policies highlights the urgency of the concerns many conservative parents have.
Schools have been quietly incorporating Marxist ideas and teachings into their curriculum for some time, but in New York City it’s taken an even more extreme turn. There, the Department of Education has incorporated Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) alongside Implicit Bias training into its Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (CR-SE) approach.
The CR-SE framework ensures students see their cultures and identities reflected in their learning. Officials claim that CRT principles are embedded to encourage educators to address systemic racism and inequality head-on, while SEL is used to shape students’ emotional and social development, with an emphasis on understanding reality with a primary emphasis on diversity and cross-cultural understanding. In addition, teachers undergo mandatory implicit bias training to recognize and correct their own unconscious biases.
What these policies really aim to do, however, is deeply embed the Marxist ideas of equity and social justice into the city’s school system, reshaping the educational landscape with a clear agenda.
Reports confirm that 80,000 New York City teachers have received training on implicit bias, and over 83 percent believe SEL integration is important to practice in their classrooms. This widespread implementation underscores the city’s commitment to these ideologies.
However, it also raises concerns about how these frameworks might influence the development of students’ beliefs and values, often without parental input or consent. The move has sparked debate, with some applauding the efforts to promote inclusivity while others argue it risks imposing a one-sided perspective on impressionable young minds.
At the beginning of the American founding, the purpose of education, particularly classical education, was clear. It was about developing virtuous and informed citizens who could actively participate in the new republic. Education was the key to cultivating moral virtue, intellectual development, and civic responsibility. The classical curriculum aimed to form leaders who deeply understood history, philosophy, and ethics — leaders who could contribute positively to society and safeguard the principles of liberty.
Students educated under this classical model were expected to impact the country profoundly and positively. They were equipped to think critically, communicate effectively, and engage meaningfully in public life. This vision of education produced generations of Americans who were instrumental in building and preserving the republic.
Contrast this with today’s educational crisis. An alarming 60 percent of students in public and non-public schools cannot read at grade level, and those numbers are even worse in major cities long governed by progressive leaders, such as Baltimore and Chicago. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the Nation’s Report Card, reported that in 2022, only 35 percent of fourth graders and 34 percent of eighth graders were proficient in reading. This failure to equip students with basic literacy skills is a stark departure from the original purpose of education. Instead of producing virtuous, informed, and capable citizens, the current system leaves many students ill-prepared for adulthood and civic life.
Defending parental rights in the face of growing state control over education is essential. Critics often argue that parents aren’t qualified to influence curriculum decisions. They claim that educational professionals are better suited to determine what children should learn. This view is flawed. It ignores the fundamental truth that parents are the primary caregivers and moral authorities in their children’s lives. Moreover, the outcome demonstrates that their approach is failing the majority of students.
Parents have both the right and the responsibility to direct their children’s education, especially in moral and spiritual matters. The state’s increasing encroachment on parental rights is a dangerous trend that must be resisted. Christian parents must be empowered to actively participate in their children’s education. It’s crucial to ensure that education aligns with their values and beliefs.
Moreover, current educational trends have moral and social implications that extend beyond individual families. If left unchecked, these trends could lead to a society where moral relativism prevails and the foundational principles of our nation are eroded. By advocating for a return to biblical principles in education, we can help restore moral clarity and strengthen the fabric of our society.
As parents and students embark on another school year, it is clear that education is no longer just about reading, writing, and arithmetic. The classroom has become a battleground where the values that shape our society are contested daily. These policies and trends — often implemented without full parental consent — demand our attention and vigilance.
This year, more than ever, parents must be aware of the policies at play in their children’s schools and be prepared to engage, advocate, and, if necessary, resist the imposition of values that conflict with their own. The stakes are high, and the need for informed, active participation in our children’s education has never been greater.
As seen in this article, many K-12 schools now embrace the secular woke agenda and are hostile to Christian beliefs and parental rights. Fortunately, parents don’t have to settle for this. Liberty University Online Academy is a K-12 program designed to educate your children in the ways of the Lord while preparing them to stand firm in their faith when they graduate. Our flexible online curriculum ensures that your student is trained at your convenience and keeps YOU the ultimate educator of your children.
