Discriminatory Censorship Laws.

The summer of 2020 ignited global protests for racial justice. Across the United States, mill ions ma, ched with a modest plea: that Anierica reckon with its racism. Fork-12 schools, this moment pushed local communities and district leaders to create mon? inclusive classrooms and cwn·ic·ula. Yet before the summer ended, America.'s antiracist turn piwoked a backlash campaign that has proven flir more impactful and enduring This catnpaign has Ratured the rise and spread of -disc*-iminatory censorship laws"-a term we apply to government action designed to demean inclusionan· values and to daily students access to crifical knowledge, inquiry, and thinking. As of January 2024, over twenty states and 145 school districts had enacted cit least one discriminatory censorship law regulating K-12 schools. These laws cover over 1.3 million educators and nearly half the nation k 50 million public school student. This campaign has featured the rise and spread of "discriminatory censorship laws "--a term we apply to government action designed to demean inclusionary values and to deny students access to critical knowledge, inquiry, and thinking. As of January 2024, over twenty states and 145 school districts had enacted at least one discriminatory censorship law regulating K-12 schools. These laws cover over 1.3 million educators and nearly half the nation's 50 million public school students. Many have analyzed the legality of discriminatory censorship laws. Few have systematically assessed their impact. This Article fills that gap by synthesizing otherwise siloed research. Drawing on this scholarship, we identify two overarching threats discriminatory censorship laws pose to students, educators, and public education writ large: (1) hostile learning environments and (2) miseducation. We also surface how discriminatory censorship laws have spread, notwithstanding their lack of popular support. Albeit unpopular, this ongoing campaign of discriminatory censorship is unlikely to relent absent an equally committed and coordinated response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]