A New York grand jury鈥檚 indictment of former President Donald Trump is the latest in a series of current events that some teachers aren鈥檛 sure how to鈥攐r if they even can鈥攂ring up in the classroom.
Last week, Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, following an investigation into allegations that he paid hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his first presidential campaign in 2016. He is expected to appear in court in New York on Tuesday.
The indictment is unprecedented and historic, but also highly controversial, involving a porn star, a divisive national figure, and a heated political moment.
In states with laws limiting how teachers can talk about so-called divisive concepts, such as race, gender, sexuality, and politics, some educators may worry about how or if they can talk about the indictment. Eighty-six percent of educators said they would not talk about Trump鈥檚 indictment in an informal that generated nearly 1,400 responses. (Some respondents said the topic wouldn鈥檛 be relevant given their subject areas or students鈥� ages.)
But, experts say, discussions of current events are important and necessary for students to grow into adults who are critical thinkers with a sense of agency.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 have opportunities within classrooms for students to apply what they鈥檝e learned to current events and situations, then they鈥檙e really not making any of that content knowledge or skills meaningful,鈥� said Shannon Pugh, president of the National Council for the Social Studies.
Laws limit how teachers can talk about politics, current events
Texas and Kentucky are the only states so far with laws limiting how teachers can talk about politics or current events.
Texas鈥檚 Partisanship out of Civics Act, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed in 2021, prohibits teachers from 鈥渂eing compelled to discuss a particular current event or widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs.鈥� If a teacher does choose to discuss a such a topic, they must 鈥渟trive to explore that topic from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective.鈥�
In essence, it prohibits teachers from discussing controversial issues with any sort of bias, but doesn鈥檛 define 鈥渃ontroversial.鈥�
Last year, Kentucky lawmakers passed a similar law鈥攐verriding a veto from the state鈥檚 Democratic governor鈥攖hat requires 鈥渋nstruction or instructional materials on current, controversial topics related to public policy or social affairs鈥� to be 鈥渞elevant, objective, nondiscriminatory, and respectful to the differing perspectives of students.鈥�
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 define impartiality,鈥� said Jeremy Young, senior manager of free expression and education at PEN America, a free-speech advocacy organization, 鈥渨hich means basically anyone can say you鈥檙e not discussing [controversial issues] impartially and then you can be reprimanded for it.鈥�
Lawmakers in a handful of other states, including Arizona, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, have introduced their own versions of the bill, The bills mostly follow the wording of the model 鈥淧artisanship out of Civics Act,鈥� , a senior fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank and advocacy group. None of the proposed bills define 鈥渃ontroversial鈥� or 鈥渃urrent event.鈥�
Texas鈥� law doesn鈥檛 include a penalty for teachers who talk about current events with bias, but some versions of the bill pending elsewhere do. In Missouri, schools would suffer penalties or potentially lose state financial support for violations, and teachers in Alabama would be subject to 鈥減rofessional discipline.鈥�
Teachers who choose to talk about Trump鈥檚 indictment are likely to approach it without bias, regardless of laws in their state, Young said.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine a teacher going into a K-12 classroom, talking about the Trump indictment, and talking about it from a partisan perspective,鈥� Young said. 鈥淭his is not a close judgment call about whether you should be definitively partisan about it or not.鈥�
But the bills and other policies like them may make teachers question whether they should touch on the issue at all, said Amanda Vickery, an associate professor of social studies and race education at the University of North Texas.
鈥淭o me, teaching about the [former] president being indicted is not controversial,鈥� Vickery said. 鈥淭hat is what鈥檚 happening right now. It鈥檚 history being made right now, so we need to talk about it. But, for other people, that can be considered controversial. So it鈥檚 very subjective and teachers are unsure of themselves.鈥�
Teachers should trust their judgment when discussing the indictment
The indictment raises many relevant topics for social studies discussion. Teachers can use it to facilitate conversations about the judicial process, campaign finance, and presidential history, Pugh said.
It also serves as a good moment to promote civil discourse in the classroom, Pugh said.
鈥淭his is a great opportunity to really focus on perspective and why some people feel one way about this case while others feel another way,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also really important, regardless of the content, that teachers always help students see different views of issues. It鈥檚 a critical skill for our students.鈥�
But teachers should ultimately trust their judgment when it comes to discussing Trump or the indictment, especially with Daniels鈥� background as an adult film star. Pugh recommends that teachers review their local and state standards and be mindful of their students鈥� maturity levels to determine how they talk about the indictment if at all.
Teachers should also work to make sure the conversations about the indictment are a natural extension of the classroom environment, she said. If a classroom hasn鈥檛 ever discussed current events and a teacher decides to start with Trump鈥檚 indictment, that may raise some concern in the community.
鈥淎pril is probably not the first time that anyone should be discussing a challenging topic in the classroom,鈥� Vickery said. 鈥淭eachers just need to be mindful when they teach current events that it should be part of a natural process.鈥�
It may also be helpful for teachers to let parents know that they will be discussing the indictment in class and provide details on what that will entail, Vickery said.
鈥淭eachers need to trust themselves and do what they鈥檝e been doing,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey know what鈥檚 best for their kids.鈥�
