Curricular Preemption: The New Front of An Old Culture War – White Paper by Steven L. Nelson
As local school districts have increasingly moved to embrace culturally responsive teaching, states have intervened to control the content of local curricula to prevent honest discussions of race as well as sexuality and gender identity. This is part of a growing trend of states abusing preemption – where a higher level of government displaces the authority of a lower level of government – to wage culture wars without regard to the priorities and values of local communities. In a new paper from Local Solutions Support Center, Curricular Preemption: The New Front of an Old Culture War, we discuss the growing trend of curricular preemption and its impact on local school districts.
As part of the Local Solutions Support Center’s ongoing efforts to help local leaders understand and deploy their authority to address their communities’ needs, we have published this white paper from Steven L. Nelson, J.D., Ph.D. to call attention to this alarming new preemption trend and begin the conversation with school districts about fighting back. Special Thanks to reviewers Richard Briffault, Jorge Camacho, Nestor Davidson, Sarah Fox, Erin Scharff, and Marissa Roy.