Parent Groups Call For Audit of State Laws in Wake of Superintendent Fiascos
Press Releases
On October 27, 2025, Defending Education, along with dozens of local parent groups, sent letters to state officials calling on state legislative and executive leaders in all 50 states and Washington DC, to conduct a top-to-bottom audit of their education laws and policies to ensure compliance with federal civil rights and constitutional protections. Defending Education, along with parent groups from across the United States, urged states to repeal or revise policies that discriminate based on race, sex, national origin, or religion, and violate federal law—before those violations jeopardize student safety, parental trust, and access to federal funding
Recent scandals involving superintendents have exposed major failures in how public education systems vet, hire, and oversee personnel. At the same time, states are increasingly enacting or enforcing laws that run afoul of federal anti-discrimination protections under Titles VI, VII, and IX of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. These dual failures—moral and legal—demand immediate state-level self-examination.
Public education is a state responsibility. Yet every state that accepts federal funds must follow federal civil rights law. Too many states are out of compliance, whether through race-based hiring and programming, restroom/locker room and athletic policies that violate sex equality or the scrubbing of personnel records that allow predators to move between schools undetected. Our organizations are calling for “legal housekeeping” to ensure that schools operate lawfully, transparently, and in the best interests of students and families.
Read the state letters below:
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