“It has a chilling effect”: How secondary social studies teachers across the country are navigating discriminatory censorship laws

A growing number of U.S. states have passed laws that restrict the teaching of certain topics, usually involving race, gender, and sexual orientation, in school. Employing critical theory, we examined the reaction of secondary social studies teachers in five states with and without discriminatory censorship laws (DCLs) through surveys (N = 319) and interviews (N = 28). We found that there were differences in how teachers experience DCLs based on geographic location, teaching status/experience, financial security, administrative support, and community context. Most teachers, despite these differences, reported that the laws were harmful to their students and the profession. This harm varied from experienced teachers leaving the field, to students learning an inaccurate or incomplete version of history, to marginalized students experiencing further marginalization and attacks on their identities. At the same time, teachers described protective factors that insulated them and allowed for a greater ability to resist what they saw as harmful laws. Overall, the social studies teachers reported that these laws are intended to silence discussions of important topics, which ultimately have a negative impact on their students’ learning.