Founded in 2021, Defending Education, formerly Parents Defending Education, quickly became a prominent voice in the anti-student-inclusion movement because of its opposition to student diversity and inclusive education policies. By leveraging lawsuits and federal complaints, the group works to undermine racial equity, gender inclusivity and equality, and LGBTQ+ rights, which Defending Education characterizes as student indoctrination. It also uses its resources to spread propaganda about what it considers to be ideological and indoctrinating content in schools, specifically those related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), race and gender.
Read the Extremist File
Key Takeaways
- Defending Education began as a reaction to political and social upheavals surrounding COVID-19 mandates in schools and nationwide racial protests following the murder of George Floyd.
- Despite claims of being a grassroots organization, the group is significantly embedded within broader national conservative funding networks and supported by larger donors.
- A focus of the group’s attacks has been race-conscious education policies and programs, such as DEI initiatives and affinity groups. Defending Education claims these are a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs based on race, color or national origin.
- Defending Education opposes the rights of LGBTQ+ students and parents. It claims gender-inclusive policies and programs violate federal law.
Image at top: Nicole Neily, president of Defending Education, testifies during a March 23, 2023, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution and Limited Government hearing on parental rights in public education in Washington. (Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
