January 2025 Newsletter

Their minds are open.

Let's keep it that way.

Welcome to THINC Foundation’s inaugural newsletter! Releasing monthly, it contains our views on key developments in Liberated Ethnic Studies (LES) as well as relevant news articles and timely calls to action.


Are the Winds Shifting in K-12 Education?
By Mitch Siegler, Founder

For years, the progressive left has devoted tremendous energy to inserting their politics into K-12 education.

California, which has historically been the nation’s petri dish for cultural and political changes, is ground zero for the leading edge of that effort: the liberated ethnic studies (LES) movement.

LES, which often goes by the name “critical ethnic studies,” has much in common with critical race theory. It’s an ideological teaching framework that trains children to see everything through the lens of race. LES categorizes some groups of people (certain ethnic minorities in America) as “oppressed” and others (white and “white-adjacent” people – including Asians, Hindus and Jews) as “oppressors.” There is no neutral category.

Ethnic Studies education should build bridges among children of different backgrounds, but LES puts up walls. It’s not what parents want, it’s the antithesis of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream, and it’s no way to teach children how to develop mutual understanding and thrive in an increasingly diverse America.

LES’s proponents have developed a playbook to bring these ideologically driven curricula from California to schools across the country – but parents have taken notice. As THINC’s national survey showed, they don’t want politics in their kids’ classrooms, and they don’t agree with LES’s race essentialism.

Battles around LES are also happening in Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Washington and elsewhere. Local parents’ groups from coast to coast are making their voices heard despite opposition from progressive activists, teachers’ unions, and LES consultants.

Recently, however, we’ve seen signs that the winds are shifting against LES.

Exhibit “A”: Tam Union Together (TUT) parents are making an impact in Marin County, CA. The Tamalpais Union High School District is trying to hurriedly implement a new Ethnic Studies course, including classes on Jewish and Arab experiences, with insufficient time for public review – but parents are vigilant. Wary of potentially radical course content, TUT is submitting a petition asking the District to hit the pause button.

Exhibit “B”: New data validates concerns over the infiltration of LES in classrooms nationwide. LES proponents are fond of arguing that concerns about their approach are overblown and radical concepts aren’t being taught at the K-12 level. Until recently, we didn’t have good empirical data to disprove that – but we do now.

Researchers asked students how frequently they heard LES/CRT claims in class, and the data shows what our experience already led us to believe: while it may not be everywhere, LES ideology has infected a significant portion of our K-12 classrooms.

14% of students are regularly hearing support for racially segregating participants in classroom discussions about race – an unacceptable teaching strategy. One out of five students are often told the racist notion that white people should feel guilty about their privileges, and 36% regularly hear that America is a fundamentally racist nation.

Exhibit “C”: In his second inaugural address on January 20, 2025, President Trump criticized the state of U.S. education, stating: “We have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves, in many cases to hate our country…” This remark reflects the President’s concerns about educational content, particularly regarding LES. Throughout his campaign, President Trump pledged to cut federal funding for programs that include such content.

While these examples don’t constitute a trend, they do offer hopeful signs that common sense is still alive and well.

Mitch Siegler is the Founder of THINC Foundation. He can be reached at msiegler@thinc.org.

CAUTIONARY TALE: Palo Alto backtracks on transparency.

After California decided against funding mandatory Ethnic Studies courses in January, the Palo Alto Unified School District initially followed suit. Undoubtedly, the 1,400 parents who submitted letters of protest to the District contributed to the decision, as did the advocacy of the Palo Alto Parent Alliance.

District Superintendent Austin stated: “No further revisions or additional input will be gathered until the California legislature both assigns funding and clarifies any additional content requirements.” Austin referenced California Senator Josh Becker, who has noted that some Ethnic Studies coursework “contains a clear and dramatic violation of the law” with “obvious factual inaccuracies,” underscoring the pitfalls of rushed or loosely monitored mandates.

But mere days later, Palo Alto reversed its decision. Bowing to pressure from school employees and their union, the school board held a vote on the topic and reversed their earlier decision. Palo Alto will now require the course, which focuses on oppression and resistance rather than multicultural understanding.

This case is a microcosm of the fight against LES, and the tactics we can expect from our opponents.

  • By backtracking, the district clearly valued the preferences of employees and teachers unions over the perspectives of parents;
  • The district voted on a curriculum that it refused to share with parents until just hours before the vote;
  • LES advocates characterized as “inclusive” a curriculum that endorses violent resistance, anti-white racism, and shocking cultural relativism

In short, LES proponents will oppose transparency, misrepresent course content, and ignore the will of parents who, as our survey showed, overwhelmingly want curricula to be publicly available. Cases like this show exactly why school board members and teachers unions are among the least-trusted members of the educational system when it comes to ensuring students get an impartial education.

THINC stands with PA2, TUT, and every other parent group fighting to ensure their children are taught to see others as complex individuals rather than members of monolithic, aggrieved groups. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter for more updates!

THINC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is qualified to receive tax-deductible donations.

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