Politicization of Public Education: Safety Concerns

Due to the increased scrutiny of curricula and textbooks, many school librarians and LGBTQ educators have expressed concerned about their privacy and safety, particularly following attacks by conservative public figures.

  • “Let’s be clear. Christopher Rufo does not care about schools. He does not care about children. He is a propagandist. This is about nationalist white supremacist power. Therefore he is okay with harming teachers & our LGBTQ+ students. He is telling you exactly what he is doing.” —School Leader in California
  • “Okay, y’all. This is going to be very important. If you work in public education at all, get protected right now. Lock down. Remove all your personal info. Do the same if you’re in libraries. Build your PLNs on Slack/Discord/Private groups.” —Educator N/A
    • “This individual is who is responsible for the CRT panic. Now, it’s the gay agenda in schools, starting tomorrow. Do not take this lightly or ignore it. This is real, this happens as planned, and this is what is next. What we’ve seen so far is child’s play.” —Educator N/A
  • “As a teacher/librarian at a well-resourced school, it would’ve never occurred to me my day-to-day would be so much more frightening. Good salary! Nice facilities! Good benefits! I didn’t know that my local efforts as a teacher would be up for mass public conversation.” —Educator N/A
  • “I’ve sort of resigned myself to the fact that I have effectively been silenced. I have to protect myself & my family. It’s been devastating & difficult to come to terms with that considering my previous work in librarianship & education.” —Educator in Texas