{"id":99934,"date":"2025-04-08T06:28:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T06:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalopportunity.org\/?page_id=99934"},"modified":"2025-04-08T08:26:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T08:26:42","slug":"dei-teacher-hiring","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalopportunity.org\/?page_id=99934","title":{"rendered":"DEI Hiring"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_color=”#111111″ custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][dipl_double_color_heading heading_main_part=”Report: How DEI policies influence K-12 educator hiring” display_in_stack=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_heading_settings_level=”h1″ pre_header_font=”|||on|||||” pre_header_text_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.8)” pre_header_font_size=”20px” pre_header_line_height=”1.1em” main_header_text_align=”center” main_header_text_color=”#FFFFFF” main_header_font_size=”2vw” main_header_line_height=”1.1em” pre_header_font_size_tablet=”18px” pre_header_font_size_phone=”16px” pre_header_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” main_header_font_size_tablet=”7vw” main_header_font_size_phone=”10vw” main_header_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/dipl_double_color_heading][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_color=”#111111″ custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/nationalopportunity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DEI-K12-Hiring-Practices-Report.jpg” title_text=”DEI-K12-Hiring-Practices-Report” align=”right” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

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Who is teaching your children?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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How DEI policies influence K-12 educator hiring in America<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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August 2023
<\/b>Jessica Hockett, PhD, Senior Policy Analyst
National Opportunity Project<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Press Release<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Download the Full Report<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Send a FOIA Request<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Media Coverage<\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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More and more, America\u2019s public school classrooms are becoming ground zero for political indoctrination. The same contentious ideologies and social activism that have taken over colleges and universities have crept into K-12 education. Increasingly, critical race theory and ill-defined concepts such as \u201csystemic racism\u201d and \u201cunconscious bias\u201d are adopted into policy and curriculum as undeniable truths and packaged as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or Social Emotional Learning. The push isn\u2019t new, but many parents were unaware this is what happened in their children\u2019s classrooms until pandemic-era school closures and e-learning gave them a front-row seat to their children\u2019s education.<\/p>\n

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The kinds of commitments public school systems are making these days aren\u2019t simply words on a page. They inform everything the district does, including who gets to teach there.<\/h2>\n

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While much attention has been turned to identity politics infiltrating American classrooms, less focus has been paid to the influence on the people schools are hiring to impart this indoctrination on students. A recent survey shows DEI departments and administrative positions have become more common, especially in large districts. What about classroom teachers?<\/p>\n

The National Opportunity Project, a nonprofit government watchdog and education organization, has produced the nation\u2019s first survey and overview of the DEI hiring process in K-12 education. If Americans are concerned about political indoctrination in their children\u2019s classrooms, NOP must start by understanding how public school districts hire teachers to impart such politics.<\/p>\n

Is there reason to believe districts are seeking teachers who have certain political or social beliefs\u2014and weeding out those who don\u2019t? For instance, are applicants to a P.E. instructor position screened for their beliefs about equity? Is a qualified candidate for a third grade teaching slot less likely to get the job if she publicly espouses conservative views? Can a critic of critical race theory expect to be seriously considered for a job teaching world history?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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The kinds of commitments public school systems are making these days aren\u2019t simply words on a page. They inform everything the district does, including who gets to teach there. If applicants to such districts who don\u2019t subscribe to certain views are weeded out, then the practices are merely another tool for indoctrinating K-12 students into a single political ideology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”http:\/\/nationalopportunity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NOP-Report-DEI-Teacher-Hiring-August-2023.pdf” button_text=”Download the Report” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#EDF000″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][dipl_double_color_heading heading_pre_part=”Key problems: ” heading_main_part=”What NOP found” display_in_stack=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_heading_settings_text_align=”center” pre_header_font=”|||on|||||” pre_header_text_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.8)” pre_header_font_size=”18px” pre_header_line_height=”1.1em” main_header_text_color=”#FFFFFF” main_header_font_size=”4vw” main_header_line_height=”1.1em” pre_header_font_size_tablet=”16px” pre_header_font_size_phone=”14px” pre_header_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” main_header_font_size_tablet=”5vw” main_header_font_size_phone=”7vw” main_header_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/dipl_double_color_heading][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center” background_layout=”dark” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

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Among districts that provided records, NOP found myriad examples of political and social ideology influencing the teacher hiring process. NOP also faced resistance to providing either requested records or fully-unredacted documents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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1. Ideological qualifications in teacher job postings
<\/strong>Districts are using coded language in job postings\u2014specifically, in attributes that qualified candidates should have\u2014that potentially deters ideological dissenters from applying. These are invitations for (or virtue signals to) ideological partners. The most politically-charged job ads incorporate strong language about racism, systems, and\/or justice. Their message to applicants is clear: Be prepared to join our crusade, or don\u2019t apply.<\/p>\n

2. Application and interview questions that screen for political and social ideology
<\/strong>NOP also found application and interview questions that presume and screen for agreement with equity, diversity, and related concepts. Some were more open-ended, but NOP also encountered questions that were loaded and presumptive.<\/p>\n

Likewise, NOP saw a range of questions in interview protocols that interrogate candidates on DEI concepts. Most alarming are questions that go beyond teaching responsibilities to personal disclosure.<\/p>\n

3. Using evaluation criteria to find an ideological fit
<\/strong>The criteria or guidance that some districts give to anyone evaluating a candidate is the starkest, most direct evidence of screening teachers for ideological conformity. Perspectives that diverge from or fail to mesh with the district\u2019s views on equity, for example, are judged poorly.<\/p>\n

4. Setting racial and ethnic diversity hiring goals
<\/strong>Some school districts go beyond the American \u201cmelting pot\u201d idea, or removing barriers to certain groups of applicants, to saying faculty and staff should or will directly \u201cmirror\u201d or \u201creflect\u201d characteristics of the student body. Not only does this standard create a moving target, but it could also exclude highly qualified candidates due to their race or other immutable attribute.<\/p>\n

5. Identity quotas for hiring committees and interview panels
<\/strong>Consistent with the ideological emphasis on identity and identity politics, the guidelines for forming hiring committees and interview panels in some districts use identity quotas. Public school districts are setting criteria for staff who must be part of interview or selection committees that could discriminate against otherwise qualified staff, due to race, gender, or sexual orientation. The directions are akin to the teacher diversity goals highlighted earlier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A kind of social engineering is at play when public schools limit their teaching force to those who share the same social or political views\u2014or feel like they can\u2019t disclose their opposition to controversial ideologies. One applicant who is penalized for challenging controversial doctrines is one too many. This is as much a problem if the ideologies are from the right, instead of the left.<\/p>\n

Intentional or not, a concerted effort to find teachers dedicated to a district\u2019s anti-racist pledge potentially discourages or filters out applicants with moderate or conservative viewpoints. It begs the question:\u00a0<\/span>Do such practices withstand legal scrutiny?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Considering the Supreme Court\u2019s recent decision outlawing affirmative action, maintaining and expanding these employment policies may land school districts in federal court even if they don\u2019t seem like obvious discrimination. If nothing else, seeking out devotees to a single political or social perspective may constitute de facto discrimination by creed\u2014 especially if an applicant\u2019s aversion to a perspective is rooted in his\/her religious convictions. Public school districts run the risk of violating a candidate\u2019s civil rights should the person have reason to believe his\/her religious, political, or social views played a significant role in denying employment.<\/p>\n

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What to do<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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If certain political and social activists and allies are privileged in the teacher hiring process\u2014and skeptics discouraged from applying, or from disclosing views that don\u2019t conform\u2014students are being robbed of diverse viewpoints, skilled teachers, and a quality education.<\/p>\n

Local scrutiny and resistance to teacher-hiring practices that put applicants at an ideological disadvantage is crucial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Do you have examples of biased hiring? Contact us to share your story.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Specifically:<\/p>\n