By Bianca Flowers and Rich McKay
(Reuters) – As the school year comes to an end across the United States, many teachers are wondering what they will return to in the fall.
While most of the attention on education in the nation has centered on President Donald Trump’s battles with universities, the administration has also vowed to close the Department of Education and issued broad orders targeting diversity and instruction of structural racism and gender in schools, raising concerns about what teachers can and cannot say and teach.
“I’ve noticed this past year, teachers have been a lot more nervous whenever they’re teaching,” said Ryan Matrigali, 17, a Florida high-schooler. He recently spoke up at a school board meeting in support of former AP English teacher Melissa Calhoun, who was let go after using a student’s preferred pronouns, according to documents obtained by Reuters through a Freedom of Information Act request.
“With all of the rules and the school board cracking down, they’re not allowed to be as open with topics,” Matrigali told Reuters.
Calhoun could not be reached for comment. She had been employed at Satellite High School in Florida’s Brevard Public Schools for seven years. On April 1, she received a notice that her contract would not be renewed, along with a letter of reprimand from the superintendent, who cited a state law that requires parental consent for certain communications with students. The law does not outline specific disciplinary action for teachers.
Satellite High School and school board officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Parent activist Amy Roub is part of a coalition of students and parents advocating for Calhoun’s reinstatement and challenging a “climate of fear” she says has become more pronounced among teachers under the Trump administration.
“I’m trying to get them to come to school board meetings, but they’re terrified,” said Roub, referring to teachers who express support anonymously but fear retaliation. “It’s time to be brave because once we start rolling over, we’ve already lost.”
Tina Descovich, co-founder of the group Moms for Liberty, has championed conservative parental rights for years, with members taking over many school boards across the nation, and becoming a force in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
“The claim that (Trump’s) order infringes on teachers’ free speech is misguided,” she said.
WHERE GOES FLORIDA
Well before Trump’s re-election, Florida led the way in advancing the Republican Party’s education agenda. It was among the first to ban books in K-12 schools and introduce legislation preventing diversity programs and initiatives statewide. Now, across the country, teachers, parents, students, and advocates who support free speech and inclusive education in classrooms are worried Trump’s executive orders will reshape public education nationwide.
The moves have been driven by the administration’s view that teachers have prioritized teachings of “white privilege” and unconscious bias. A January executive order banned schools from teachings Trump called “indoctrination” of students based on race and gender.
The directive was followed by a “Dear Colleague” letter from the Education Department instructing schools how to enforce the executive order and a warning that any school continuing such practices would lose federal funding. Trump also aims to abolish the Education Department, which funds districts that serve low-income communities and students with disabilities and enforces civil rights laws.
Federal courts have either halted enforcement or issued temporary injunctions pausing implementation of the directives. A federal judge also blocked Trump’s attempt to shut down the Education Department.
But teachers are already feeling their impact.
On the final day of school at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Meridian, Idaho in late May, Sarah Inama took down a poster in her classroom that read, “Everyone is welcome here.” She said school administrators told her the sign violated the district’s policy requiring classroom displays to remain “content neutral.” The sixth grade teacher resigned, blaming Trump’s directives and school administrators for her decision.
“I was told that my poster represented an opinion,” Inama told Reuters. “But I said what’s the other opinion, that they’re not welcome?”
When asked about Inama’s claims, school officials said that its decisions are not based on any political administration’s stance.
“The district’s responsibility is to ensure that schools remain inclusive spaces for all students, while also staying within the bounds of what is legally permissible in public education settings,” Niki Scheppers, Chief of Staff and Communications at West Ada School District, said in an emailed statement.
In New Hampshire, Valerie Wolfson, 49, is one of seven teachers who filed suit in conjunction with the National Educators Association (NEA) and the ACLU against the Trump administration’s anti-DEI instructions, saying it violates its interpretation of Title VI of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prohibits the discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs that receive federal financial assistance, including public schools.
“You can’t talk about Jim Crow without talking about race,” Wolfson said.
Some teachers unions are working to safeguard educational autonomy by embedding protections into collective bargaining agreements. In Chicago, the teachers union secured a landmark contract in April that included explicit language on academic freedom and protections for marginalized and immigrant students.
Atlanta history teacher Lena Hamilton said she is determined to continue teaching race and immigrant history. “The philosophy that raised me as a teacher was one that I think is deeply American,” Hamilton said.
(Reporting by Bianca Flowers and Rich McKay; editing by Kat Stafford and Claudia Parsons)
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