Parent Censorship in the United States Education System

            Parent involvement and censorship in schools have been an ongoing challenge in the United States education system. The current issue with parent involvement and censorship in schools is the widely debated topic of critical race theory and LGBT-related content being taught in schools. These teachings bring attention to the debate on the authority of parent intervention and censorship of literature in schools. Parent involvement with censorship in schools can protect their children from sensitive topics that can potentially harm their mental growth and development. However, censoring what students learn prevents them from learning about the world, expanding their intellectual capacities, and becoming critical thinkers. Parent involvement with censorship also limits educators on the ability to teach students effectively. The widely debated topic of censorship about parent authority in the education system continues to affect both students and educators.

Censorship Today

            In recent years, the topics of critical race theory and LGBT-related content has been censored from schools in the United States. Critical race theory (CRT) is the teaching that U.S. social institutions are linked with racism in laws, procedures, rules, and regulations which cause various outcomes based on race. This teaches students about the fundamental idea that race is a social construct. According to a study conducted by UCLA, “More than 17.7 million public school students enrolled in almost 900 districts across the country could have their learning restricted by local action and the recent slate of laws and policies aimed to ban teaching concepts related to race, racism, and gender, and often deemed “critical race theory.” (Pendharkar) People that are opposed to CRT being taught in schools fear that it classifies all white people as oppressors and all black people as oppressed victims. These concerns even led to school boards and state legislatures from Tennessee to Idaho to ban the teaching of racism in schools. (Ray and Gibbson) The concerns about censorship of the critical race theory and materials related to racism impact students and educators. The opinions of people that oppose CRT create a hostile learning environment. In addition, it would also inhibit the freedom of students to learn, have meaningful and complex discussions about race in America, and talk about how this would relate to America’s present and future situations.

            The right’s war against critical race theory also allowed anti-gay supporters to censor LGBT-related materials in schools. This opposition led to Republican lawmakers “…establishing speech codes for public schools, censoring students and teachers, and banning diverse educational materials. Homophobic activists have piggybacked off this campaign by reframing LGBTQ-related school speech as dangerous liberal propaganda.” (Stern) A prime example of this would be the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that has been passed in Florida which states that school districts cannot discuss sexual orientation or gender identity in the classrooms for primary grade levels. The censorship of LGBT-related material in schools brings concern to the LGBT youth. Based on studies by The Trevor Project, LGBT youth face high health and suicide risks compared to their cisgender or straight peers. When they are given access to spaces that validate their gender identity, there are reported lower rates of suicide attempts. (Diaz) Censorship of LGBT-related materials in schools prevents students from receiving support, reassurance, and information. Not only does censorship affect students in the LGBT community, but it also affects students overall as it limits their understanding of the various identities of U.S. citizens.

            The censorship of critical race theory and LGBT-related content in schools has fueled the debate on parent involvement in censorship in the United States education system. The effect of banning and limiting learning resources in schools affects both students and educators. Overall, the increase in public attention to this topic leads to the question of parental authority on censorship in schools.

What is Censorship?

            Censorship is the suppression of information or ideas that are deemed offensive, harmful, or disturbing. “In many countries, censorship is most often directed at political ideas or criticism of the government. In the United States, censorship more often involves social issues, and in school is commonly directed at so-called ‘controversial’ materials.” (The First Amendment in schools: Censorship) These materials include the indirect or direct discussion of sexuality, religion, race, and ethnicity.

Problem Statement

            Parent involvement with censorship in the United States education system harms both students and educators. The American Library Association (ALA) database reported that there were a relative number of book challenges between the years 2001 and 2009, a decrease after with one spike in 2012, and a growing increase after 2016 (see fig. 1) The increase of book challenges can be seen as a “…growing movement on the right to use the levers of local and state governance to control teachers and push an ideology slanted vision of what children should learn about American culture, society, and history.” (Beauchamp) Censorship in schools is a rising concern to the learning development of students. In addition, censorship caused by parental intervention affects educators because they are constrained in the educational transparency of what they teach students. The authority of parents censoring literature and curriculums in school has been widely debated and gives attention to how censorship is affecting students and educators.

What Leads to Parent Involvement with Censorship in Schools?

            Most of the pressure for censorship stems from parents that do not support the language or ideas that differ from their personal values and views. As stated from the Child Trends Databank, parent attendance for school students was reported as 85 percent for students in kindergarten through second grade, 84 percent for students in third through fifth grade, 76 percent for middle school students, and 73 percent for high school students. (Sangenito) Parents have higher ratings of attendance in their child’s school when their child is in elementary or middle school. Parent involvement in schools leads to more demands that are related to their anxiety about social conditions and traditions. These demands are the censorship of certain literature and curriculums taught in school that involve “…anywhere across the religious, ideological, and political spectrum.” (The First Amendment in schools: Censorship) Based on a survey conducted by SuperSummary on more than 1,000 parents in the United States, 37 percent of parents believe that sexually explicit content and nudity is an acceptable reasons for the censorship of books in school, 23 percent of parents believed the same for violence, and 53 percent for sexual explicitness. In addition, according to ALA, 50 percent of the 147 censorship attempts in 2020 are reported to come from parents (Jensen).  Parents are a major factor in the censorship in the education system and relate to their disapproval of topics that are deemed sensitive or inappropriate for their child to learn.

Impact of Censorship on Students

            The debate on censorship of literature in the education system mainly affects students where one side of the argument is that it can help students focus on their studies and the other claims that censorship is harmful to students. The pros of censorship in schools are that it protects children from inappropriate content and can improve their knowledge. Since children are impressionable, frequent exposure to offensive concepts will lead to the normalization and adoption of the concepts in their lives. Therefore, censorship allows schools to “…ensure that their students will be exposed only to good value and positive ideas…can help them grow into smart, wise, and responsible adults.” (Censorship in Schools Pros and Cons List) However, the cons of censorship on students are preventing the development of student ideas and opinions, creating conflicts between the students and the school, and restricting student knowledge of the world. Advocates against censorship emphasize that the restriction of student access to certain materials leads to students losing the chance of learning new ideas, missing the opportunity to form their own opinions about controversial topics, being prevented from developing critical thinking skills, and failing to realize that the world is imperfect which can lead to difficulty adjusting to society as they grow older. Students may also want to express themselves through school but are prevented by educators or school administration due to censorship and this can overall lead to issues between students and schools. (Censorship in Schools Pros and Cons List)

            Although there are arguments on the benefits of school censorship for students, the detriments outweigh the decision to support parent authority on censorship in the education system. Censorship harms students with curious minds from exploring the world, developing their logic and reasoning skills, and becoming critical thinkers. Overall, the arguments on the benefits or detriments of school censorship on students weigh on the decision to support or be against censorship in the education system.

Impact of Censorship on Educators

            The United States education system reflects society’s values, priorities, and democratic ideals. To simplify, the education system is “…the establishment of a quality education that will enable all children to achieve their highest potential as individuals, serve effectively as citizens of a free society, and successfully compete in a changing global marketplace.” (United States of America) Censorship in schools challenges the ideals of the education system and affects school educators. By avoiding material parents find controversial, educators are limited in their ability to help students develop critical thinking and make decisions on controversial issues that would allow students to be involved in societal issues in the future. In a studied interview of high school administration and students, it was found that “… all English teachers and administrators cited concern for strict adherence to policies discouraging distressing themes in student work. These participants said that teachers are in a unique position to provide support, report abuse, or challenge unconventional or dangerous perspectives.” (Hallquist) Educators are limited with the content of materials and methods used in class due to censorship issues in schools and are challenged when incorporating these topics into their teachings. According to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), an adolescent needs to be allowed to have critical thinking and judgment. Therefore, English teachers should have resources of literature available to expose the students to many factors of human existence. (Symula). Teachers provide materials for students to develop these skills and to deny access to these materials due to censorship will deny the student experiences that are important to their development. Additionally, censorship limits teacher resources and flexibility which takes creativity and vitality away from the art of teaching. This results in instructions that are rule-based and creates an environment that decreases student enthusiasm for learning. (The First Amendment in schools: Censorship) Educators are deprived of creating a classroom setting that encourages students to learn and are denied the freedom to address questions or create discussions without the fear of consequences from parent censorship. Moreover, censorship is an issue in the U.S. education system and a problem for educators to effectively inspire students to learn and advance their critical thinking and developmental skills.

Addressing Censorship in Schools

            In the United States Constitution, the First Amendment protects the freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition. In the educational system, censorship requires educators to balance the principles of the Supreme Court’s First Amendment decisions. The first principle is that educators have the freedom to exercise their professional judgment and fulfill their educational mission if their decisions are used to help students learn. The second principle is that the decisions that are most vulnerable to legal actions are those that are influenced by controversial ideas or the preference to conform to certain ideologies. (The First Amendment in schools: Censorship) Educators must adhere to the principles of the First Amendment and it would be unlikely for the court to order school administrations to censor materials with educational value. Educators are also noted by school administrators to communicate with parents if the controversial materials are vital to the curriculum. In most censorship cases, school administration and board members seldom ask for student opinions. (Miner) Parental concerns are usually of greater importance than the consideration of student opinions and rights. Ultimately, censorship in schools is addressed by the principles of the First Amendment and takes parental concerns into account.

Works Cited

Beauchamp, Zack. “Why Book Banning Is Back.” Vox, Vox, 10 Feb. 2022, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22914767/book-banning-crt-school-boards-republicans.

“Censorship in Schools Pros and Cons List.” NYLN.org, 14 Jan. 2017, https://nyln.org/censorship-in-schools-pros-and-cons-list.

Diaz, Jaclyn. “Florida’s Governor Signs Controversial Law Opponents Dubbed ‘Don’t Say Gay’.” NPR, NPR, 28 Mar. 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/03/28/1089221657/dont-say-gay-florida-desantis.

Hallquist, Rachel. “Conversations with Students, Teachers, Parents, and Administrators About Censorship and Free Expression in High School.” Art Education (Reston), vol. 61, no. 3, Routledge, 2008, pp. 42–47, https://doi.org/10.1080/00043125.2008.11652059.

Jensen, Kelly. “Sex, Nudity, and Satanism Are Why Parents Believe in School Book Censorship.” BOOK RIOT, 3 Feb. 2022, https://bookriot.com/why-parents-censor-books/.

Pendharkar, Eesha. “Efforts to Ban Critical Race Theory Could Restrict Teaching for a Third of America’s Kids.” Education Week, Education Week, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.edweek.org/leadership/efforts-to-ban-critical-race-theory-now-restrict-teaching-for-a-third-of-americas-kids/2022/01.

Miner, Barbara. “Reading, Writing, and Censorship.” Rethinking Schools, 4 May 2021, https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/reading-writing-and-censorship-when-good-books-can-get-schools-in-trouble/.

Ray, Rashawn, and Alexandra Gibbons. “Why Are States Banning Critical Race Theory?” Brookings, Brookings, 9 Mar. 2022, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/07/02/why-are-states-banning-critical-race-theory/.

Sangenito, Samantha. “Parental Involvement in Schools [Childtrends.org].” PACEsConnection, https://www.pacesconnection.com/blog/parental-involvement-in-schools-childtrends-org?reply=unread.

Stern, Mark Joseph. “How the War on Critical Race Theory Revived Anti-Gay Activism in Schools.” Slate Magazine, Slate, 2 Mar. 2022, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/03/critical-race-theory-dont-say-gay-florida-lgbtq.html.

Symula, James F. “Censorship and Teacher Responsibility.” The English Journal, vol. 60, no. 1, National Council of Teachers of English, 1971, pp. 128–31, https://doi.org/10.2307/813357.

“The First Amendment in Schools: Censorship.” National Coalition Against Censorship, 7 Mar. 2019, https://ncac.org/resource/the-first-amendment-in-schools-censorship.

“United States of America.” UNESCO IBE – World Data on Education, 6th Edition – United States of America, http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/archive/Countries/WDE/2006/NORTH_AMERICA/United_States_of_America/United_States_of_America.htm.