FEBRUARY 27, 2026 NEWSLETTER
The THINC Foundation is dedicated to Transparency, Honesty, and Integrity in the Classroom.
Welcome to THINC Foundation’s newsletter! Releasing semi-monthly, it contains our views on key developments in Liberated Ethnic Studies (LES) in K-12 schools as well as relevant news articles and timely calls to action.
The Midwest Steps Up Against Antisemitism in Schools
By Mitch Siegler, Founder
Schools are responsible for ensuring that no students feel unsafe by virtue of their religion, ethnicity, or beliefs. Unfortunately, that responsibility has too often been selectively shirked when it comes to Jewish students, who have disproportionately suffered discrimination and harassment especially in the wake of the 10/7/23 Hamas attacks against Israeli civilians.
Several states have recently taken notice and are acting to remedy the situation with legislation that would define antisemitism, set clear guidelines for educators, and institute reporting requirements for antisemitic incidents in schools.
In Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds introduced a bill that would codify her previous executive order condemning antisemitism in Iowa schools and mandate that public schools, community colleges, and state universities submit annual reports on incidents of antisemitic activity. The bill is now being debated in the legislature, where it faces opposition from opponents of the IHRA definition who misconstrue it to raise spurious free speech concerns.
Meanwhile, the Missouri House has passed legislation to codify the IHRA definition of antisemitism into both state law and public school codes of conduct. The bill would also require the State Board of Education to monitor antisemitic incidents and present an annual report of them to the legislature, as well as prohibiting schools from creating lists or databases of students based on their religious or political beliefs. The legislation now moves to the State Senate, where it is expected to pass.
Finally, Nebraska’s unicameral legislature has advanced a bill that would require the Nebraska Department of Education to explicitly prohibit antisemitic discrimination as defined in the IHRA definition, and mandate that both the Commissioner of Education and the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education appoint Title VI coordinators to investigate antisemitic incidents and submit annual reports to the state legislature.
These actions will go a long way to ensuring equal justice and therefore equal opportunity for Midwestern Jewish students, and all three bills have THINC’s support!
Liberated Ethnic Studies (LES) Activists in Their Own Words
We talk a lot about the LES movement’s extreme positions, but what does that look like in practice? Take a look at these quotes from prominent LES leaders.
“We embrace education as a tool for liberation, not assimilation or erasure. Our classrooms are spaces where ancestral knowledge, activist scholarship, and lived experiences collide. From social justice in education and health equity to cultural resistance through literature, art, and history, our curriculum prepares students to challenge oppressive systemic power and embody radical love and accountability.”
– Cal State LA’s Department of Chicano and Latino Studies, which collaborates with California’s Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum
“We believe that education is the first step in creating consciousness that leads to action. In these turbulent times, we know that it's just not enough to teach about social justice, we have to practice social justice in every facet our lives. It is urgent that we address these issues through community organizing, using decolonizing pedagogy as a strategy for the promotion of democratic education in order to advance a critical social and political consciousness among our students, educators, and communities.”
– Association of Raza Educators, an activist group of K-12 teachers
THINC Deeply
In our latest edition of THINC Deeply, Mitch interviews Brad Liber, a veteran teacher from San Diego. Like THINC, Brad supports ethnic studies education that emphasizes mutual respect, a nuanced discussion of complex issues, individual agency, and equal opportunity.
THINC Voices
Singer-songwriter John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting) calls on all of us to speak up about the radicalism coursing through our schools. Students are being misled systematically by purveyors of “liberated” ethnic studies and other extreme worldviews, and “part of our job is to save those who’ve been indoctrinated…because we cannot lose them.”
Support Our Work
Our continued work depends on the generosity of people like you! Please consider making a contribution to THINC to fund our continued work to combat Liberated Ethnic Studies and advocate for more constructive education in K-12 schools.
THINC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is qualified to receive tax-deductible donations.
