Leftist activists know that capturing the youth is the best way to expedite transformational social change.

Accordingly, they have co-opted our schools to indoctrinate our children with radical ideologies. Not only do they insist on allowing men in girls’ sports and private spaces and forcing teachers to use the preferred pronouns of transgender students, but “progressive” states and school districts are also mandating curriculum and lesson plans that teach our children that America and the institutions of our civilization are inherently discriminatory and evil.

By shifting its focus away from teaching core fundamentals toward ideological agendas that teach our young students to hate America, public education is neglecting its primary responsibility — turning our children into patriotic and productive citizens.

A major part of this effort has been the elimination of the study of the foundational principles of our democracy. In many states, the study of Western Civilization has been replaced with a warped, culturally Marxist narrative that sows division and confrontation based on race, religion, and gender, and seeks to impose specific views on students about politics and sex. It has become commonplace in schools to implement “action or protest” civics, replacing “service learning” with formal civics education in the classroom.

The spread of so-called ethnic studies programs across K-12 schools nationwide is a good illustration of what is happening on this front. Defending Education just released a major report documenting how “ethnic studies” programs are being used across the country to indoctrinate students and turn them into activists in support of an extreme Leftist agenda.

The report exposes, for example, Berkeley’s High School Ethnic Studies Initiative’s resource hub,  which includes lessons and resources on “drag pedagogy,” “equitable grading,” “teach[ing] Palestine”, and “whiteness as property,” as well as the University of Minnesota “Ethnic Studies Initiative,” which works directly with K-12 districts to create lesson plans and resources for 6th graders that promote defunding the police and glorifying Black Lives Matter.

Sadly, we are already witnessing the impact of this indoctrination. According to a June Gallup survey, from 2021 to 2025, less than half (41%) of Gen Z adults said they were very or extremely proud to be American. Not surprisingly, many of them are embracing socialism and taking to the streets to advocate for all sorts of radical causes.

It seems obvious that if we do not reverse this trend, we will lose our country. And this requires prompt action and strong leadership at all levels of government.

Considering that education is ultimately an issue reserved for the states under the Constitution, governors and state lawmakers should move quickly to revise curriculum and education standards to depoliticize the classroom and ensure our students receive proper civic education that fosters a love of country.

Some states have already moved decisively in this direction. Iowa passed a law last year requiring its Board of Education to review and revise the state’s social studies standards to emphasize “United States history, government, founding philosophies and principles, important historical figures, Western Civilization, and civics.” Ideally, states should model their standards on strong, substantive content, such as the American Birthright curriculum of the National Association of Scholars.

Parental rights protections should also be strengthened through legislation at both the state and federal levels to guarantee that parents can fully review what their children are being taught and can have them opt out of any class, lesson plan, or survey that is purely ideological.

Full, universal educational freedom should also be pursued by states to allow parents to select alternatives to schools that seek to radicalize their children. The publicly funded Education Savings Account programs in Arizona and Florida, available to every student in the state and allowing parents to use funds to pay for school tuition, are excellent models for states to follow. President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act also provides a historic and consequential boost to education freedom by creating a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 on donations to non-profits that grant scholarships that can be used to pay for tuition.

As we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, let us remember the Founders’ belief in the importance of education, especially classical education, for the preservation of liberty and republican self-government. If we do not act swiftly to take back our schools from the clutches of ideological zealots, our great experiment in freedom and democracy will not endure.

Alfonso Aguilar is Senior Director of Government Affairs at Defending Education and former Chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship in the administration of President George W. Bush.

Wyoming Republicans are crying foul after a high school student said her school treats her Turning Point USA Club America chapter unfairly and blocks them from engaging in activities that similar clubs are allowed to do. 

Natrona County High School senior Kylie Wall told The Daily Wire that the Club America chapter she started has received a chilly reception from school administrators who have exercised a heavy hand over the group’s activities. This includes taking limited action after school staff ripped down posters for the club at the school, she said. 

State Senator Rachel Rodriguez Williams, the chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, told The Daily Wire that school officials appeared to be chilling the free speech of conservative students. 

“At best, NCHS administrators are chilling the protected speech of students, which is unacceptable,” she told The Daily Wire. “At worst, they’re systematically silencing the speech and activities of students on and off campus, which is indefensible.”

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus filed a public records request on Sunday, demanding all communications to or from Natrona County High School Principal Aaron Wilson containing the terms “Club America” or “Turning Point USA.” Natrona County High School is located in Casper, Wyoming’s second most populous city. 

Wall told The Daily Wire on Thursday that she had serious concerns about equal treatment, free speech, and student rights under district policy and the federal Equal Access Act, which requires schools receiving federal funds to have equal opportunities. 

“As students, we simply want to be treated fairly, to have our voices respected, and to participate in the same opportunities afforded to other clubs,” she said. “We look forward to working toward a resolution that upholds district policy and students’ constitutional rights.”

Wall, who started a Club America chapter shortly after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, says that school officials have blocked them from participating in public meetings off campus and failed to take sufficient action after she saw school staff tearing down advertisements for the club. 

“Approved Club America flyers have been removed by staff, and some teachers have made disparaging remarks about our club and its members,” Wall told The Daily Wire. “Despite these reports, the administration has taken little action to address them, contributing to a hostile environment for students who hold different viewpoints.”

Natrona County School District noted that it recognized two Club America chapters, one at Natrona County High School and another at Kelly Walsh High School.

“These student-led clubs are open to high school students who are interested in learning about government, civic responsibility, and active citizenship. Like all student-led clubs, school-based meetings are student-driven and are not open to the public,” the county told The Daily Wire. “We continue to encourage students from all high schools to work together and collaborate in many different capacities.”

Rodriguez Williams said that the Wyoming Freedom Caucus “reminds all Wyoming school districts that students don’t shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse doors. We are disgusted that school staff would tear down posters advertising Club America, but are filled with hope for the future at the bravery and poise of these patriotic students.”

In addition to the posters being pulled down, school officials have reportedly blocked Wall’s chapter from meeting with another local Turning Point USA club, prohibited them from attending an off-campus banquet hosted by the Wyoming Family Alliance, and told Wall that she could not do an interview on the club without the principal’s presence. 

“Our club was prohibited from attending a community event hosted by the Wyoming Family Alliance, even though other student organizations — such as athletic teams and Key Club, and others — routinely attend similar off-campus events,” Wall said. “This restriction seems inconsistent with district practice and limits our club’s opportunities to participate equally in civic activities.”

Wyoming Family Alliance Executive Director Nathan Winters confirmed that Wilson told them to “exclusively” reach out to Club America through him and declined the invitation to the banquet. He added that they never received a response when they asked if there was a district policy blocking the students from engaging in community events.

“Wyoming Family Alliance will always stand with students who want to engage in civil public discourse and experience the true meaning of American citizenship,” Winters told The Daily Wire. “We are disappointed and deeply concerned when any school or administrator restricts those first steps toward civic participation. Students should be encouraged, not silenced, when they seek to learn, lead, and contribute to their communities.”

Wall added that she “was instructed not to speak to reporters about our chapter without direct administrative supervision, or even on my own time,” while students at other high schools were not restricted in the same way. 

Following the assassination of Kirk last month in Utah, Turning Point USA has reported a massive surge in requests to form new chapters on both high school and college campuses. The organization said last week that it has launched 1,500 new high school chapters nationwide, up from roughly 1,200 total before Kirk’s death.