Democratic socialists tied to school board members, teachers unions nationwide, report shows
WASHINGTON (CITC) — Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a controversial group promoting various left-wing movements, is tied to school boards and teachers unions nationwide, according to a new report.
DSA describes itself as the largest socialist organization in the U.S. The organization, which strives to end "capitalist exploitation," sparked controversy when it hosted a pro-Palestine rally in New York City the same weekend as the Oct. 7 terrorist invasion of Israel.
The organization's goals, in terms of education, include implementing a Green New Deal for public schools, ending zero tolerance discipline policies, increasing access to schooling for immigrants and ensuring "comprehensive" sex education is taught in classrooms.
School boards and teachers unions in at least 15 states are currently tied to DSA, according to an analysis conducted by advocacy group Parents Defending Education (PDE). The data comes after DSA released a resolution announcing its commitment to "running candidates in school board races" to "fight right wing and neoliberal attacks."
In some states, DSA is publicly backing individual educators. The organization previously celebrated the swearing in of the school board president at California's Oakland Unified School District, saying it was excited to "keep fighting neoliberalism and systemic racism" in the district. Additionally, DSA endorsed several members of the Oakland Education Association, the district's teachers union, in 2022.
Oakland teachers sparked controversy earlier this month by leading an unauthorized pro-Palestine teach-in during the school day. The teach-in, which members of the Oakland Education Association promoted ahead of time, featured lesson plans aimed at bringing "awareness to the Palestinian struggle for liberation."
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"The rise in indoctrination in the K-12 classrooms with topics such discriminatory ethic studies, imbedding CRT in the curriculum, gender ideology and other politically charged topics is not a coincidence" Mailyn Salabarria, Director of Community Engagement for PDE, told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC). "Those are steps taken out of all authoritarian regimes’ handbooks to dismantle capitalism and societies based on natural individual rights."
DSA has also celebrated school board candidate wins in New York, Texas and Nevada. The organization previously voiced support for Twiggy Blue of the Syracuse City School District and Andrew Gonzales of the Austin Independent School District, both of whom began their terms in 2022, as well as Lola Brooks of the Clark Country School District, who was an active member of DSA's Las Vegas chapter as recently as 2020.
Additionally, teachers union officials are showing their support for DSA by participating in events led by the organization. In 2021, the vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was featured on a DSA-led panel discussing "corporate attacks and neoliberal policymaking" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Another former CTU official helped launched Chicago DSA's book club in 2022. One of the books featured by the club focused on "class struggle" and "radical" unionism.
"The Berlin Wall fell 34 years ago, but as this report shows, the nefarious ideas of socialism are still alive and well in our taxpayers funded educational system," Salabarria told CITC. "It’s just that we -- as happy frogs in the boiling water -- have not been paying attention to it."
CITC reached out to all relevant parties for comment, but did not immediately receive responses. This story will be updated as responses are received.
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