SPLC Curriculum in K-12: Learning for Justice/Teaching Tolerance tracker

Investigations


Total number of states: 42 plus District of Columbia

Total number of state government entities: 29

Total number of school districts: 177

For years, Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) education program called Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) has been able to integrate its far-left content and materials into K-12 schools throughout the country. The organization’s website and documents can be found on school district webpages, in teacher professional development and trainings, classroom lessons, district-wide curriculums, Social Emotional Learning (SEL), social justice standards, and district antiracism and equity policies and resources.

The aim of this report is to expose how Learning for Justice content and materials have been and are being used in schools, and how widespread the organization’s influence is in K-12 education. While this report is not exhaustive, it does capture the different ways in which the SPLC’s programming is utilized and/or promoted by state agencies, education institutions, teachers unions, professional associations, consultants, and education focused companies.

Unfortunately, the true scope of Learning for Justice’s impact on schools and districts is difficult to fully capture due to a lack of public access to curriculums, lessons, and textbooks. Additionally, because of the potential integration of the Social Justice Standards into several popular SEL curriculums, it is hard to track down all districts using the SEL programming that includes those standards.

Another complication in tracking down usage is the ability for teachers to independently incorporate Learning for Justice content and tools into daily lessons and assignments. Therefore, it is fair to assume that the use of Learning for Justice content is more widespread throughout K-12 education than this report is able to capture.

While Learning for Justice produces some content that appears neutral, the sum of its work does promote far-left ideologies and viewpoints that push a leftwing agenda. For example, the organization’s Social Justice Standards includes an entire domain focused on teaching the youngest of learners to engage in “action” or activism for social justice causes.

What follows are examples, documents, and links showing how the SPLC’s Learning for Justice content has wormed its way into American education institutions and the influence it has on policy, standards, curriculum, daily lessons, and the community.


  • Learning for Justice’s Social Justice Standards include an Anchor Domain focused on “action” that includes Anchor Standards that focus on students planning and carrying out “collective action against bias and injustice in the world” and to “evaluate what strategies are most effective.”
  • The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian includes Learning for Justice/ Teaching Tolerance as “Recommended Resources” in lessons and “Recommended Reading” related to “Native Americans of California during the mission period.”
  • According to the 2020 National Sex Education Standards (NSES) document, the standards were “further informed by the work of …the Social Justice Standards.”
  • Second Step social and emotional learning program used in schools across the country “curated a set of Learning for Justice lessons” to be taught in “tandem with your Second Step implementation to incorporate diversity, equity, and social justice work into your classroom’s SEL plan.”
  • Documents show that Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence’s (YCEI) SEL program called RULER integrates Learning for Justice’s Social Justice Standards into the curriculum and lessons.
  • The Social and Emotional Learning company 7 Mindsets states that its course is “aligned with 10 SEL competencies (the CASEL 5 and 5 additional ones)” as well as the “Social Justice Standards.”
  • In 2022, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) added “equity revisions” to its NY Social Emotional Learning Benchmarks which aligned the benchmarks with “Learning for Justice’s Social Justice Standards.”
  • Piedmont Unified School District’s (CA) Racial Equity policy requires the district to “adopt curriculum such as the Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias Framework” and “integrate social studies standards curriculum into units of study across all levels and in all content areas.”
  • Cambridge Public Schools (MA) incorporates the Social Justice Standards into its Junior Kindergarten through Fifth grade Physical Education curriculums.
  • In late 2023, the Francis Howell School District Board of Education voted to “rescind approval, for use of the academic standards titled ‘Social Justice Standards: The Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias Framework.'”
  • Princeton Public Schools’ (NJ) Equity webpage notes that the district used a grant to update its Early Childhood “library and humanities curriculum based on the Social Justice Standards, a road map for anti-bias education at every stage of K-12 instruction.”
  • Learning for Justice’s Social Justice Standards are incorporated into Somerset Hills School District’s (NJ) Social Studies curriculum from kindergarten through high school.
  • Yonkers Public Schools’ (NY) Pre-Kindergarten Project Based Learning Unit Design Plan incorporates the Social Justice Learning Standards into the curriculum and lessons.
  • According to an Essex Westford School District’s (VT) policy procedure, the district will “achieve Goal A of the district Equity Policy by implementing “curriculum to teach the social justice standards developed by Learning for Justice.”
  • Sun Prairie Area School District’s (WI) Student Academic Standards for Social Studies includes Learning for Justice’s “Social Justice Standards.”
  • The American Bar Association’s (ABA) “Bullyproof Resources for Educators” webpage promotes “Teaching Tolerance Classroom Resources.”


The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a left-of-center nonprofit organization and advocacy group that engages in civil rights litigation and monitors groups it claims are extremist or “hate groups.” The organization declares it is fighting against racism and discrimination through its various efforts.

Additionally, the organization promotes content, resources, and social justice standards for K-12 schools through its Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) program, which are intended to advance anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and other far-left ideologies into school curriculums and lessons.

In 2022, the SPLC labeled [Parents] Defending Education and other parental rights groups as “extremist” and placed them on its well known “Hate Map.”


According to the SPLC, Learning for Justice (LFJ) (formerly Teaching Tolerance) is a “community education program of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that cultivates and nurtures dialogue, learning, reflection and civic action from those closest to and harmed most by injustices in the South.” It focuses on “education for liberation — community civic and political action education — LFJ complements the SPLC’s work to increase power and capacity for multiracial, inclusive democracy.”


Learning for Justice offers a range of content, lessons, and other materials for school districts and teachers to incorporate into their teaching methods and to use in the classroom. The content often pushes or reinforces far-left cultural and political ideologies such as leftwing activism, anti-racism, Black Lives Matter, gender ideology and queer theory, white privilege, white supremacy, whiteness, and transgenderism.

The Fall 2018 issue of Teaching Tolerance features an article titled “What is White Privilege, Really?” The article, which focuses on the idea that “white privilege” is an unearned systemic advantage given to white people regardless of socio-economic status. The piece also offers several ways that white people can recognize their privilege and take action. The article is found quite often on school district diversity, equity, and inclusion sites,

Another often used article in curriculums, lessons, and as a recommended resource is “Why Talk About Whiteness?” which claims that “the normalization of whiteness and the impenetrable ways it protects itself are cornerstones of the way institutions function in the United States.”

The article continues by stating that “recognizing white privilege is a necessary but insufficient means for confronting racism and increasing opportunities for people of color. In fact, acknowledging white privilege but taking no initiative to own it or address it can be harmful and counterproductive.”


Learning for Justice’s Social Justice Standards are a “set of anchor standards and age-appropriate learning outcomes divided into four domains – identity, diversity, justice and action (IDJA).” The document states that teaching these domains “allows educators to engage a range of anti-bias, multicultural and social justice issues” and focuses on both “prejudice reduction and collective action.”

One of the “Anchor Domains titled “Action” calls upon students to engage in activism against bias, “exclusion, prejudice and discrimination” by carrying out “collective action.”


Learning for Justice content, materials, and Social Justice Standards work their way into classrooms through curriculum, district-wide adoption of the standards, independent incorporation into lessons by teachers, social emotional learning (SEL) programming, and even promoted by outside consultants via equity audits.

For example, a Minnesota Teacher of the Year semifinalist who “believes that one of those systems of oppression is eduction” helped create a “curriculum that encompasses social justice standards, 21st Century skills, and social/emotional learning standards.”

In some cases, equity consultants will include in their equity audit recommendations the adoption of the Social Justice Standards. As can be seen in North Providence School District’s equity audit completed by the Equity Institute.


The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) promotes the use of Learning for Justice resources and lessons and has offered presentations to its members on how to integrate the Social Justice Standards into school curriculums and lessons.

After the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the Southern Poverty Law Center with fraud in 2026, AFT President Randi Weingarten posted on BlueSky her support for the indicted organization.

The American School Counselor Association’s (ASCA) “Student Standards :Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success” states that the Social Justice Standards were one of the “primary resources that informed” the creation of the document. The ASCA also includes another document titled “ASCA Student Standards Crosswalk with Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards” demonstrates how the four Social Justice Standards domains align with the organization’s “Student Standards.”


The Association of Alaska School Boards’ “School-Wide Practices and Climate” webpage includes a link to Teaching Tolerance’s Social Justice Standards under “Additional Resources for Staff.” The site states that the “standards provide a common language and organizational structure: Teachers can use them to guide curriculum development, and administrators can use them to make schools more just, equitable and safe.”


A 2018 National Education Association (NEA) resource guide titled “Racial Justice in Education” notes that the teachers union partnered with Learning for Justice (then Teaching Tolerance) to “create a three-part webinar series that aims to better inform and equip educators on immediate steps they can take to feel better prepared to address the climate issues.”

A NEA document titled “Legal Guidance on Student’s Rights: Discrimination and Harassment Based on Race, Religion, National Origin, and Immigration Status” includes links to Teaching Tolerance materials under the “Resources for Educators” section.

On April 22, 2026, NEA President Becky Pringle posted on X that “by indicting a group that fights bias and tracks extremism, Trump’s Department of Justice is abusing its power, making us less safer. They will stop at nothing to crush free speech and further hate.”


Second Step, a popular Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program used in many districts, states that it has “curated a set of Learning for Justice lessons that are aligned to the Second Step Elementary digital program and Second Step Middle School” to be taught in “tandem with your Second Step implementation to incorporate diversity, equity, and social justice work into your classroom’s SEL plan.”


Below is a list of districts and departments of education (DOE) by state. Because some of the documentation is from past years, the inclusion of institutions on this list does not automatically mean that school or DOE is currently using or promoting Learning for Justice content or standards. This list primarily serves to highlight the wide use of Learning for Justice materials throughout K-12 education.

Artifacts that are used to justify adding a district or DOE to the list include:

  • Lessons, curriculums, and resources,
  • Professional development
  • School or district level accountability reports (such as California’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) or School Accountability Report Card)
  • Adoption of Teaching Tolerance’s social justice standards
  • Use of social emotional learning (SEL) programs such as Second Step that incorporate the organization’s content, resources, or social justice standards
  • Defending Education dispatches and reports
    • It should be noted that some of these are a few years old and may no longer be in use. If that is the case, a note will by added about this update but the artifact will remain as a means to illustrate the prevalence of the use of the organization’s content.

This is not a comprehensive list and will be updated as new information is found or shared. Additionally, non-school district entities such as school board associations, teachers unions, and other professional organizations are highlighted in red and state Departments of Education are italicized to make them stand out from school districts.

Alaska Department of Education Education and Early Development

Fairbanks North Star Borough School District

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District

Arizona Department of Education

Tempe Union High School District

Tucson Unified School District

  • July 31, 2023: Tucson Unified School District is using Learning for Justice’s Social Justice Standards to build “multicultural” curriculum for students

Arkansas Department of Education

California Department of Education

Alameda Unified School District

Berkeley Unified School District

Bonsall Unified School District

Bright Star Schools (Charter)

Colton Joint Unified School District

Corona-Norco Unified School District

Culver City Unified School District

Folsom Cordova Unified School District

Gateway Public Schools

Gravenstein Union School District

Los Alamitos Unified School District

Los Angeles Unified School District

Manhattan Beach Unified School District

Natomas Unified School District

New Haven Unified School District

Orange Unified School District

Piedmont Unified School Distrcit

Pleasant Valley School District

Sacramento City Unified School District

San Francisco Unified School District

San Lorenzo Unified School District

San Mateo Union High School

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

Solano County Office of Education

Sunnyvale School District

Temple City Unified School District

West Contra Costa Unified School District

Woodland Joint Unified School District

Colorado Department of Education

Aurora Public Schools

Denver Public Schools

Connecticut State Department of Education

Hamden Public Schools

Regional School District 17

Stratford Public Schools

West Hartford Public Schools

Delaware Department of Education

Appoquinimink School District

Caesar Rodney School District

Christina School District

Positive Outcomes Charter School

Red Clay School District

Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education

District of Columbia Public Schools

Broward County Public Schools

Okaloosa County School District

Pasco County Schools

DeKalb County School District

  • January 26, 2022: DeKalb County School District promotes Black Lives Matter movement; provides educators with resources to teach BLM material
    • Lesson plans included in the material all link to Learning for Justice resources.

Fulton County Schools

Idaho Department of Education

Illinois Department of Early Childhood

Illinois State Board of Education

  • Superintendent Weekly Message (January 26, 2021)

Chicago Public Schools

Community Consolidated School District 59

Community High School District 218

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

Indian Prairie School District 204

Oak Park Elementary School District 97

School District U-46 (Elgin)

Woodland School District 50

Indiana Department of Education

Indiana Department of Child Services

Monroe County Community School Corporation

Decorah Community School District

Iowa City Community School District

  • August 5, 2021: Iowa City Community School District website recommends resources that promote critical race theory and “abolitionist teaching”

Waukee Community School District

  • April 4, 2022: Waukee Community School District adopts Learning for Justice’s “Social Justice Standards”; teachers reportedly promote race and gender ideology in classrooms

Jefferson County Public Schools

St. Martin Parish School District

Maine Department of Education

Maryland State Department of Education

Calvert County Public Schools

Howard County Public Schools

Montgomery County Public Schools

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Bedford Public Schools

Cambridge Public Schools

Easthampton Public Schools

Everett Public School District

Framingham Public Schools

Leicester Public Schools

Monomoy Regional School District

Mount Greylock Regional School District

Newton Public Schools

  • July 14, 2021: Newton Schools embrace affinity groups, teach students they must “dismantle racist structures, ideas and practices” and replace them with “antiracist structures, ideas and practices”

Norwood Public Schools

Salem Public Schools

Somerville Public Schools

  • January 20, 2022: Somerville Public Schools wants students and educators to “experience discomfort”; partners with organizations that promote teaching gender identity to young children

Swampscott Public Schools

Taunton Public Schools

Winchester Public Schools

Michigan Department of Education – Office of Educator Excellence

East Grand Rapids Public School District

  • August 29, 2022: School SEL lesson features elementary students writing poetry focused on racial identities

East Lansing Public Schools

Mason Public Schools

West Bloomfield School District

Minnesota Department of Education

Independent School District 728 – Elk River Area

Lakeville Area Schools

South St. Paul Public School District

Mississippi Department of Education

North Kansas City School District

  • December 5, 2023: North Kansas City School District provides teachers with lesson plans on LGBTQ issues for students as young as kindergarten in celebration of LGBTQ History Month; provides teachers with resources from GLSEN and Learning for Justice

Raymondville R-VII Public School District

Webster Groves School District

Nebraska Department of Education

Washoe County School District

  • November 8, 2022: Washoe County School District creates “Equity Guidebook”

New Jersey Department of Education and New Jersey Division on Civil Rights

Bound Brook School District

Brentwood Union Free School District

Emerson Public Schools

Florham Park School District

Franklin Lakes School District

Hillsborough Township School District

Lawrence Township Public Schools

Morris School District

Princeton Public Schools

Somerset Hills School District

South River Public Schools

Springfield Public Schools

Verona Public Schools

Westfield Public Schools

New Mexico Public Education Department

New York State Education Department

Brentwood Union Free School District

Brighton Central School District

East Ramapo Central School District

Gananda Central School District

Grand Island Central School District

Guilderland Central School District

Hastings-On-Hudson Union Free School District

Levittown Public Schools

Malverne School District

New York City Public Schools

Penn Yan Central School District

Pine Plains Central School District

Rochester City School District

Salamanca City Central School District

Schalmont Central School District

Sharon Springs Central School District

Troy City School District

Washingtonville Central School District

Yonkers Public Schools

Duplin County Schools

Durham Public Schools

Guilford County Schools

Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County Schools

North Dakota Department of Public Instruction

Ashtabula Area City Schools

Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Edison Local School District

Kings Local Schools

Lynchburg-Clay Local School District

Mentor Public Schools

  • April 11, 2022: Mentor Public Schools’ presentation explains to teachers how they can become “co-conspirators while using a curriculum rooted in whiteness.”

  • January 21, 2022: Oklahoma State School Boards Association offers teaching resources that promote “racial equity” to educators (including a series for preschoolers that denounces the concept of racial equality and suggests only white individuals can be racist)

Oregon Department of Education

Portland Public Schools

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Education

Carlisle Area School District

Jersey Shore Area School District

Lower Merion School District

Penn Hills School District

School District of Springfield Township

Seneca Valley School District

Upper Merion Area School District

Wissahickon School District

Rhode Island Department of Education

Alvin Independent School District

Salt Lake City School District

Vermont Legislature

Burlington School District

  • February 15, 2022: Burlington School District supports allowing young children to choose their gender identity and pronouns; promotes segregated “affinity spaces” for students and staff
  • Equity Resources

Essex Westford School District

South Burlington School District

  • June 8, 2022: South Burlington elementary school curriculum aims to inspire students to become “active anti-racists” with resources from ‘Reading is Resistance’ and ‘Woke Kindergarten’. District staff required to participate in “white privilege” activity.

Virginia Department of Education

Virginia Department of Health

Arlington Public Schools

Scott County Schools

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)

Washington State Governor’s Office of the Education Ombuds

Catalyst Public Schools

Edmonds School District

Highline Public Schools

Lake Washington School District

North Thurston Public Schools

Seattle Public Schools

Shoreline Public Schools

Snohomish School District

South Kitsap School District

Tacoma Public Schools

Tahoma School District

Berkeley County Schools

  • February 2, 2023: Berkeley County Schools provides teachers with lesson plans for students from the organization Learning for Justice

Lewis County Schools

Marion County Schools

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Columbus School District

Fox Point – Bayside School District

Greendale School District

Howards Grove School District

Madison Metropolitan School District

Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District

Oconomowoc Area School District

School District of Ashland

School District of Holmen

School District of McFarland

Stoughton Area School District

Sun Prairie Area School District

Waterloo School District

Big Horn County School District #1