My daughter, who teaches in Cambridge, let me know that her kids were scheduled to visit the John F. Kennedy Museum today. When they got there, this was all they learned:
In an attempt to provide more than commentary and exhortation, here are two adoptable/adaptable letters that unequivocally defy the harmful orders and actions coming out of Washington - actions like shuttering the JFK. One letter is for educators; the other is for parents.
I told my daughter that I wish every student and teacher in the Commonwealth would gather at the JFK for a teach-in, and gain the kind of education that can only come from being in the world when it's off kilter and trying to right it again. I told her that if it happens, I'll be right beside her, her colleagues, the kids, and the parents.
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Sample Refusal Letter for Educators
Date:
From: [Your Name]
To: Relevant Official(s)
Re: Refusal to Comply with the “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” Executive Order
Dear [Relevant Official(s)],
I write to formally state my refusal to comply with the directives outlined in the executive order titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling”, as issued by President Trump. The order is premised on logical contradictions, enforces ideological indoctrination under the guise of combating it, and mandates actions that would compel me to violate both my legal obligations and ethical duty as an educator.
The executive order presents itself as an effort to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in education. However, as no school or society can function without engaging in decisions about diversity, equity, and inclusion, it is logically impossible to be “anti-DEI.” What this order does, rather, is institute a highly restrictive version of DEI—one that redefines diversity to exclude certain identities, distorts equity to prioritize those already privileged, and reconfigures inclusion as a hierarchical structure where only particular voices are heard and empowered.
To be clear, the administration is not abolishing DEI; it is imposing a DEI-Restrictivist framework that actively erases or suppresses historically marginalized identities. To pretend otherwise is to engage in deception, and I will not participate in such duplicity.
The order explicitly forbids “indoctrination” while simultaneously mandating patriotic education—a phrase historically used to enforce political conformity. In doing so, it undermines its own claim to be protecting intellectual freedom. The irony could not be starker: prohibiting discussions of systemic inequality while requiring the promotion of a state-prescribed nationalistic narrative is the very definition of indoctrination.
As an educator, my role is not to dictate what students must believe but to equip them with the tools to think critically, assess evidence, and engage with diverse perspectives. The expectation that I would suppress factual content or compel allegiance to a particular political narrative violates the fundamental mission of education and contradicts the very principles of academic integrity.
The executive order’s prohibition on acknowledging gender diversity places schools and educators in direct violation of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs. Furthermore, failure to recognize and respect diverse identities undermines bullying prevention efforts and exposes gender-diverse students to psychological harm, social isolation, and increased risk of self-harm—outcomes well-documented in psychological and educational research.
Ignoring the existence of gender diversity is not neutrality; it is an act of deliberate erasure that endangers vulnerable students. The law demands that I protect my students from discrimination and harm. Complying with this executive order would mean failing in my duty to safeguard all students equally, and I refuse to be complicit in such dereliction.
The executive order leverages federal funding as a means of coercion, threatening the financial stability of schools that do not comply. This is not a policy decision; it is extortion, an attempt to force educators into ideological alignment at the cost of financial survival.
To comply with this order in exchange for federal funds would be to accept blood money—funding secured at the price of abandoning our legal and ethical responsibilities. The public entrusts educators to uphold standards that protect all children. No amount of financial pressure justifies capitulation to directives that cause demonstrable harm to students and erode the integrity of public education.
While this order’s impacts extend across all levels of education, the ethical and legal violations it demands are most egregious in the K-12 setting, where our youngest and most vulnerable learners reside. The formative years of education are meant to support the development of critical thinking, social awareness, and personal growth, not to enforce political dogma or restrict students' understanding of the world.
If the federal government mandates that I must teach in ways that harm children, violate established law, and betray the very purpose of education, then my only ethical course of action is non-compliance.
For the reasons outlined above, I refuse to comply with the directives of this executive order. I will continue to:
● Teach in accordance with empirical reality and educational best practices.
● Uphold federal anti-discrimination laws, including Title IX.
● Protect students from harm, including the psychological and social damage caused by exclusion and erasure.
● Reject coercion that seeks to force ideological conformity in public education.
Should enforcement actions be pursued against me or my institution, I will not quietly acquiesce. I stand ready to challenge this order through all available legal, professional, and civil avenues.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
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Sample Refusal Letter for Parents
Date: [Insert Date]
From: [Your Name]
To: [School Leader’s Name]
Re: Parental Refusal to Accept the “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” Executive Order and associated actions
Every Parent has the Right to a Safe Learning Environment for their Children
Dear [School Leader’s Name],
I write to you as someone who believes that schools should be places of learning, inclusion, and safety for all students, and someone who is grateful for your leadership efforts to make our school such a place.
The recently issued executive order titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” does not merely represent a shift in policy; it represents an existential threat to the well-being of our children and the ethical foundation of public education.
This executive order seeks to replace an inclusive educational framework with one that erases identities, distorts history, and subordinates truth to political ideology. Such a mandate is a direct attack on the safety, dignity, and belonging of all students.
I need to know where our school stands. Specifically:
What is our school doing to resist this order and ensure that our students—all students—continue to be supported, affirmed, and protected?
What steps will you take to ensure that educators are neither forced into compliance nor silenced when they stand up for students’ rights?
If our school leadership chooses to comply with this executive order in ways that deteriorate existing inclusivity measures, I will have no choice but to remove my child from school until such time as safety and sanity are restored.
To be clear: This is not about partisanship. This is about protecting children and opposing dogma, no matter the source. The erasure of identities, the rewriting of history, and the coercion of teachers into compliance with harmful policies are not abstract political issues; they are direct threats to the psychological and physical well-being of students.
As a parent, I will not allow my child to be subjected to an environment that undermines their dignity, restricts their access to honest education, or normalizes discrimination under the guise of “patriotic” schooling.
I urge you to publicly affirm our school’s commitment to resisting this unjust mandate. The decisions you make will determine whether families like mine can trust this institution to safeguard our children’s futures. I look forward to your response and to working together to ensure that our school remains a place of true education—not compliance with harmful dictates.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]