Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
Online > Web Feature Series > Mid Atlantic

Title of entry: 
Star-Spangled Bans: The cost of censoring America’s schools

Issue or Publication date:
11/18/2022, 11/15/2022, 11/16/2022, 11/17/2022

Publication name: 
K-12 Dive

Publishing/parent company: 
Industry Dive

View Website home page:
https://www.k12dive.com/

About the Publication:

Description of the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

The rapid spread of classroom censorship policies in the 2021-2023 school years took onlookers by surprise, and left experienced educators feeling lost and confused about how to do their jobs. But to K-12 Dive reporter Naaz Modan, who had closely followed their development since the Trump administration, the policies were hardly surprising.

What was more difficult was capturing the intricate web of state policies and school practices that were nearly identical in essence and intent, yet dramatically varied in origin, scope, implementation and impact. How are these policies different, and how are they related? This series answers those questions and humanizes the educators caught in the middle of it all.

The monthslong reporting involved interviewing nearly 40 people, sometimes multiple times to ensure the reporting was up to date. It required finding documentation of complaints to state boards of education, reviewing district training materials and testimony before legislatures, and following ongoing and complex lawsuits. Perhaps hardest, however, was gaining the trust of educators themselves — who were often working in environments that made them afraid to speak up — to better understand those environments of fear in which they are working.

This series captures the roles of government actors, the public, educators and students in a movement that is both new and old. It explores the breadth and depth of these explosive policies in a way that simultaneously puts them in historical context, connects them to current events, and anticipates what the future of education policy and practice could hold.

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https://www.k12dive.com/news/star-spangled-bans-cost-censoring-americas-schools/636948/
Additional URLs, if needed:
https://www.k12dive.com/news/star-spangled-bans-trump-call-to-preserve-us-history-energized-movement-to-erase/635856/
https://www.k12dive.com/news/star-spangled-bans-anti-crt-policies-schools-downplay-race-history/636477/
https://www.k12dive.com/news/star-spangled-bans-no-place-pride-in-schools-anti-lgbtq-laws/636755/