Parents鈥� rights, 鈥渨oke ideology,鈥� the science of reading, and school choice dominated speeches and panel discussions Friday at the annual summit of Moms for Liberty鈥攁 group that鈥檚 catapulted to national prominence in recent years.
The organization鈥檚 local chapters have vociferously objected to schools鈥� COVID-19 safety precautions, sought book bans in school libraries, accused teachers of indoctrinating students, and flipped a number of large school districts to conservative control.
Its second Joyful Warriors summit is happening as the group has gained influence, particularly among Republican politicians, and attracted high-profile condemnation at the same time.
The group鈥檚 event here at the Philadelphia Marriott drew protests, and it came just weeks after a local chapter and an organization that tracks hate groups in the United States . Days before the event, a professional organization for historians, the American Historical Association, called on the Museum of the American Revolution .
But that hasn鈥檛 stopped Moms for Liberty鈥檚 influence from growing, especially as the 2024 presidential race kicks into gear. The summit had five candidates from the Republican field on its agenda鈥攆ormer President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and former biotech CEO Vivek Ramaswamy.
The Moms for Liberty event, which runs from June 29 through July 2, brought together around 650 members and served as an early opportunity for Republican presidential candidates to speak about education. The event also gave a platform to four conservative state education chiefs.
Throughout the summit, Moms for Liberty members could choose sessions on topics ranging from how to push back against comprehensive sex education, how to spin a positive message in the media as the group has garnered more attention and scrutiny, how to win school board and other elections, and how to scrutinize social-emotional learning curricula.
Here鈥檚 what educators need to know about the summit and its implications for schools.
1. The group says its agenda is parents鈥� rights
Parents鈥� rights served as the common thread throughout all of the conversations and speeches Friday.
The politicians who spoke argued that schools have usurped parents鈥� rights by having students share their pronouns; teaching about LGBTQ+ issues; letting transgender and nonbinary athletes play sports that align with their gender identities; teaching social-emotional learning; and pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
DeSantis, who has led the Republican Party on these culture war issues and elevated education as an issue in the GOP primary, boasted about Florida鈥檚 Parental Rights in Education Act, otherwise known as the 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay鈥� law, enacted last year. The law prohibits teachers from talking about gender identity and sexuality in classrooms. It initially applied to kindergarten through 3rd grade classrooms but was expanded to apply to all grades this year.
鈥淲e have enacted a parents鈥� bill of rights in the state of Florida because we understand that the purpose of our school systems are to support the communities, to support students and parents,鈥� DeSantis said. 鈥淚t is not to supersede the rights of parents.鈥�
The issue of parents鈥� rights dominated conservatives鈥� education agendas throughout the 2022 midterms, and the push is continuing in the lead-up to the 2024 elections. Republicans in the U.S. House passed a national parents鈥� bill of rights in March鈥攚hich asserts a parent鈥檚 right to review curriculum, speak at school board meetings, know how school budgets are being spent, protect children鈥檚 privacy, and know what measures schools are taking to keep children safe, all of which parents are already legally able to do. The bill has not made it through the Senate.
Last year, lawmakers in 26 states introduced 85 bills that establish a parents鈥� bill of rights, six of which were signed into law鈥攖wo each in Florida and Arizona, and one each in Georgia and Louisiana, according to FutureEd, a Georgetown University research center focused on education policy. So far in 2023, lawmakers have introduced 62 parental-rights bills in 24 states, according to FutureEd. One such bill has become law so far, in Iowa, according to the research center.
A host of school boards have also passed comparable policies, often allowing parents to review curriculum materials and withdraw their children from lessons they don鈥檛 approve.
2. Private school choice drew massive support, affirming a tie to parents鈥� rights
School choice, especially private school choice, has been a dominant issue for Republican lawmakers, presidential candidates, and governors throughout the past year.
So far this year, lawmakers in 42 states introduced bills to expand school choice, with the vast majority aiming to establish private school choice programs like vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, and education savings accounts, which give families public funds to spend on private school tuition, education therapy services, and other educational expenses. Fourteen of those bills have been signed into law.
Six states鈥擜rkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Utah鈥攈ave passed universal school choice policies this year, which allow parents to access private school choice programs regardless of family income, their children鈥檚 disability status, or any other qualifying factor.
鈥淓very parent in this country should be able to have the wherewithal to send their kids to the school of their choice,鈥� DeSantis said.
Haley also promoted school choice.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need a child going to school based on their ZIP code, based on their race,鈥� she said. 鈥淓very child deserves a good education.鈥�
And while Trump said he would establish a universal school choice program as president, he also said that he refuses 鈥渢o abandon our public school systems.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e leftist-dominated systems,鈥� Trump said.
3. SEL, Common Core, Title IX reforms are all part of a 鈥榳oke ideology鈥�
Speakers at the summit all assailed what they called a 鈥渨oke ideology鈥� being taught in schools. DeSantis highlighted Florida鈥檚 decision to reject math textbooks for 鈥渋ndoctrination鈥� and slammed the Common Core State Standards, the reading and math standards that have been used in dozens of states for years.
He also labeled social-emotional learning鈥攑rograms that teach students how to manage their emotions, empathize with others, and maintain positive relationships鈥攁s an example of woke ideology.
鈥淚 will fight the woke in corporations. I will fight the woke in schools. I will fight the woke in the halls of Congress,鈥� DeSantis said.
Most commonly, Republican politicians have argued that books, lessons, curriculum, and school policies that address or add protections for LGBTQ+ students, as well as efforts to teach social-emotional learning in schools, represent 鈥渨oke ideology鈥� or 鈥渓iberal indoctrination.鈥�
鈥淥n day one I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children,鈥� Trump said.
DeSantis, Haley, and Trump all criticized the Biden administration for its recent, proposed rewrite of rules for Title IX, the federal sex discrimination law, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexuality and gender identity and bans on transgender athletes playing sports that align with their gender identity.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got biological boys playing in girls鈥� sports,鈥� Haley said. 鈥淭his is one of the biggest women鈥檚 issues of our time.鈥�
Since 2020, 22 states have passed laws banning transgender youth from playing sports that align with their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit organization that tracks issues and policies affecting LGBTQ+ people.
4. Science of reading gets pulled into the culture wars
In some of the only discussion focused on instruction and student achievement, a panel with Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice and the lead education officials in Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma, and South Carolina spoke of their efforts to 鈥済et back to basics鈥� by improving literacy instruction.
All four state superintendents said they support the 鈥渟cience of reading,鈥� a movement to bring reading instruction in line with research on how students learn, which has been reflected in state laws across all four states. In South Carolina, Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver said the state has begun training teachers in LETRS, or Language Essentials of Teachers of Reading and Spelling.
The popular training, which can take up to 160 hours for teachers to complete, has been adopted by at least 23 states and gives teachers the tools to instruct students with research-based practices. It walks teachers through assessing students鈥� phonemic awareness, or their knowledge of sounds in the English language; teaching students phonics, or how those sounds represent letters that create words; and how and why teachers should teach word parts, otherwise known as morphology.
In Arkansas and Oklahoma, state law requires teachers to demonstrate proficiency in scientific reading instruction. Arkansas also implemented more rigorous literacy standards with the passage earlier this year of its Arkansas LEARNS law, which鈥攁long with expanding school choice, raising starting teacher pay, and eliminating a state requirement that districts have a step salary schedule鈥攂ars students who don鈥檛 pass state reading standards from moving beyond the 3rd grade, emulating a policy that鈥檚 been in effect for years in neighboring Mississippi. The state is also adding 120 literacy coaches to schools, said Jacob Oliva, secretary of education in Arkansas.
鈥淥nce [students] come to us in kindergarten, we鈥檝e got to make sure that teachers are trained in the science of reading,鈥� Oliva said. 鈥淭he research is very clear, the No. 1 impact on students improving learning is the teacher standing in front of them every single day.鈥�
The conversation about literacy didn鈥檛 come without mentions of 鈥渨oke ideology鈥� in schools. The superintendents anchored their comments to the idea that education needs to focus on math, reading, and science rather than lessons about LGBTQ+ people, race, racism, or social-emotional learning.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a problem when your LGBTQ+, whatever, guide is 27 pages and your reading instruction is only three pages,鈥� said Manny Diaz Jr., Florida鈥檚 education commissioner. Florida passed a requirement that teachers be trained in the science of reading in a law signed by DeSantis in May.
鈥淲e need to get all of this woke stuff out,鈥� Diaz said.
5. Trump, focused on education more than in 2016 and 2020, calls for elected principals and merit pay
In his speech Friday, Trump suggested that school principals be elected, giving voters a chance to cast them out if they feel they aren鈥檛 succeeding in their jobs.
鈥淚f you have a bad principal who鈥檚 not getting the job done, the parents will, under the Trump administration, elect to fire that principal,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淭his will be the ultimate form of local control and parental rights.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 stance on principals is one example of his increased focus on education in the 2024 election cycle. The former president did not make education a major part of his campaign in 2020 or 2016, instead letting former education secretary Betsy DeVos be the voice of the Trump administration鈥檚 education priorities.
If Trump is to get his way and voters are able to 鈥渇ire鈥� principals鈥攖hough the president tends to have little influence over public schools, which are controlled and funded predominantly at the state and local levels鈥攊t could lead to chaos. Research has shown that schools have better teacher retention the longer principals stay, states and districts spend millions of dollars each year on principal preparation, and high principal turnover can lead to low math and reading scores among students.
On top of that, many principals are already considering leaving the profession due to staffing shortages, and threats to their safety and general well-being. National Association of Secondary School Principals surveys in 2021 and 2022 showed that nearly 40 percent of school leaders considered leaving their jobs in the next few years, and 14 percent said they planned to leave the next year.
Trump also said he would implement funding preferences for any school district that abolishes teacher tenure and adopts merit pay for teachers, rewarding teachers with pay raises for better student performance.
Arkansas passed a merit pay program in its LEARNS package, through which teachers are eligible for $10,000 bonuses if their students have better performance, earlier this year. That method of paying teachers is highly controversial, but recent research has shown that it can be effective in recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of bad teachers, and the problem is you can鈥檛 get them out,鈥� Trump said.
