Lora Bartlett is the chairwoman of the education department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is a co-author of Going the Distance: The Teaching Profession in a Post-COVID World (Harvard Education Press, 2024) and the author of Migrant Teachers: How American Schools Import Labor (Harvard University Press, 2014). You can find her on
Bluesky.
“I am not really sure if you can teach that slavery was wrong.”
That was the school district administrator’s response that signaled the end to an Iowa history teacher’s career. In 2021, Iowa had passed a “divisive concepts” law restricting school-based coverage of ideas related to race and gender. The teacher (I’ll call him “Sam Stewart”) had just asked his superintendent for guidance on how to honestly and legally teach Civil War history. The superintendent’s tentative response left the teacher feeling alone in navigating the classroom-level implications of Iowa’s law.
With his integrity at stake, he decided, “I am just going to do it anyway. I am going to teach that systemic oppression is real through history.” But then a local politician targeted Stewart in online forums, labeling him “un-American” and calling for his termination. Soon after, facing increasing harassment, Sam Stewart resigned his position and left teaching.
Twelve hundred miles away, New Hampshire high school teacher John Dube never expected to come to the attention of the FBI, but then he also never imagined that his commitment to teaching honest history would make him a target for violent militia members. Profiled in a Guardian article about Americans moving across state lines for safety, Dube had taught history for over three decades in a small town when the state passed legislation banning topics related to racism, sexism, or oppression in schools.
Established in his community and driven by his convictions to teach critical thinking, Dube signed a public petition opposing state censorship and pledging to teach truth. Within hours, he began receiving the threatening messages that preceded the FBI contact and advice that he take the threats seriously and increase security measures at home. Soon after, Dube moved his family to Vermont for safety. In 2024, the law was struck down as unconstitutionally vague and a violation of protected free speech. The ruling is currently on appeal and cannot be enforced.
Teachers across the country find themselves navigating a raft of laws constraining the teaching of what those sponsoring the laws consider “divisive” concepts. Typical of the statutes are prohibitions on teachers stating that one race or sex is superior to another or on lessons that make students feel guilt or anguish because of their race or sex. PEN America, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting free speech, reports that since 2021, there have been 440 bills introduced in state legislatures that seek to censor public school teachers and topics, often in the name of preventing leftist indoctrination. As of February 2026, 21 states had passed “gag” laws affecting public schools.
As experienced by Sam Stewart, the laws tend to be vague about specifics, and some school district administrations default to a when-in-doubt-don’t approach to curriculum decisions. Vague laws coupled with overly cautious local-level leadership stifle classroom instruction, even affecting subjects well within the law.
In addition to pedagogical curtailment, an alarming number of teachers face threats of violence related to curriculum and instructional decisions and policies. A 2025 nationwide survey of educators revealed that more than 1 in 4 teachers have received such threats.
Vague laws coupled with overly cautious local-level leadership stifle classroom instruction.
While school leaders ought to play an active role in defining the instructional implications of laws and in protecting teachers from violence, teachers themselves can also take steps in collaboration with school leaders or even in the absence of supportive leadership. In my research with public schools, I have seen several successful strategies employed by teachers in this realm. These include ways to prepare for difficult situations, responsive actions to take, and alternatives to career exit when the risks start to feel too high. To all the teachers reading this, I urge you to:
Affiliate. Invest in forming strong professional, friendship, and community affiliations. When challenges arise, you will have support to process, problem-solve, and respond. Research repeatedly highlights that teachers with strong networks are better positioned to weather difficult situations.
Balance. While affiliating with others is essential, so is protecting yourself from harassment and doxing. Take steps to insulate your personal information, including separating your personal and professional profiles, using strong privacy settings on your social media, and employing a service to scrub personal details on websites. Education Week and Pen America have guides to help you get started.
Clarify. Seek clarity on what is and is not legally implicated. Vagueness sows doubt that can result in unnecessary curriculum curtailments. Clarifying specifics can help prevent expansion through anticipatory compliance. Also, knowing the legal specifics can allow you to adapt. For example, a law may prevent you from assigning certain books but may not preclude offering them as optional readings.
Communicate. Communication is key to building and sustaining affiliations. When challenges arise, it can feel safer to get quiet in hopes of staving off negative attention. But communication is an important tool for building understanding and support with parents, administrators, and colleagues. Share details of what and how you are teaching, your rationale and purpose. When appropriate, share how instructional decisions align with the law.
Mobilize. With strong affiliations, clarified laws, and communication, you will be in a good position to collectively mobilize. In Indiana, a grassroots movement of teachers organized and countered a legislative effort to limit what teachers could say related to race, sex, and religion. Their success is evidence that teachers can effectively mobilize to communicate concerns and shape policy.
Relocate. If you find yourself in an untenable position, consider relocating to a new workplace. John Dube moved states, but others have found relief in a shift to a more supportive school or district. Professional exit is always an option, but, for many, a relocation regains them a professional context where they feel safe, supported, and more able to be the teacher they are committed to being.
Navigating instructional censorship laws and related threats to career and self is challenging. Teachers who affiliate with one another can draw on powerful networks to clarify the true boundaries of the laws and effectively communicate with school communities. The freedom to teach honestly can still prevail if we resist intimidation and support one another.