On October 27, 2025, Defending Education (DE) and dozens of local parent groups sent letters to public leaders in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The letters call on each state to conduct a top-to-bottom audit of its education laws and policies to make sure they follow federal civil rights and constitutional protections. The groups urge states to adjust policies that discriminate based on race, sex, national origin, or religion and that violate federal law, before those violations put student safety, parents’ trust, and federal funding at risk.
Recent scandals involving superintendents have revealed major failures in how public school systems hire and oversee staff. At the same time, more states are passing or enforcing laws that conflict with federal anti-discrimination protections, including Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. These failures demand that states take a hard look at themselves right away.
Public education is a state responsibility, but every state that takes federal funds must follow federal civil rights law. Too many states are out of compliance, whether through race-based hiring and programs, bathroom, locker room, and sports policies that violate sex equality, or the scrubbing of personnel records that lets predators move between schools without being caught. DE and its cosignatories call for “legal housekeeping” to make sure schools operate lawfully, openly, and in the best interests of students and families.
