Cultural Chaos in Public Schools Exposed – 4 Things You Should Know about the State of Public Education in America

Huey ReportDEI, Education, Marxism, Schools, Socialism, The Great Deception

▶ Key Takeaways
  • American culture is in chaos today – driven by socialist/Marxist political and economic ideology… and by the abandonment of traditional moral values.
  • Government-run public schools reflect and exacerbate cultural chaos by teaching kids critical race theory, social emotional learning (SEL), gender identity ideology, DEI, and more.
  • Parental and adult satisfaction with public education in the U.S. is at its lowest level (32%) since it was first measured in 1999.
  • A middle school math curriculum called “Pathway to Equitable Math” teaches students that getting the correct answer and having to show their work constitute a form of white supremacy.
  • Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum is geared to replace parental guidance in children, and reduces academic learning time.
  • In international surveys of 15-year-old students in 23 affluent countries, U.S. students rank near the bottom in attitudes of well-being.
  • In a different survey of youth depression in adolescents and teenagers – aged 10 to 19 – U.S. kids ranked second-to-last out of 112 higher-income countries.
  • On a brighter note, Defending Education – a national grassroots nonprofit organization – works to restore free speech and the free exchange of ideas across K-12 public schools and higher education, while keeping political ideology and activism out of the classroom.

 

American culture is in chaos.

The chaos is partly driven by the intentional design of radical political, religious and social activist groups…

And partly driven by the abandonment of traditional moral values – including belief in the God of the Bible.

Public schools are reflecting and exacerbating cultural chaos by teaching:

  • Gender identity ideology
  • Critical Race Theory
  • Antisemitism
  • “Equitable Math Instruction”
  • Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
  • History as class warfare between the oppressed and their exploiters
  • And more…

Good public school teachers who resist using curriculum materials and lesson plans handed to them by state and/or local school boards are:

  • forced to comply by teachers’ unions and district administrators
  • at risk of losing promotions and even their jobs

Parents who want to prevent their children from being exposed to socialist/Marxist ideologies for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, have two options:

  • a private school not subject to state control over curriculum
  • homeschooling

If neither of these education alternatives is practical or possible, parents may be able to support a national nonprofit grassroots organization called Defending Education.

This group works to restore free speech and the free exchange of ideas across K-12 public schools and higher education, while keeping political ideology and activism out of the classroom.[1]

Supporting this organization is one way parents, grandparents and interested adults can take action to improve outcomes in public education nationwide.

To understand what’s at stake – and how important your action and participation is – here are 4 things you should know about the state of public education across the nation:

1. Most recent polls show lowest satisfaction ever in quality of K-12 education.

A Gallup poll[2] conducted in August this year revealed the following percentages of adults who are satisfied with the quality of K-12 education in the U.S. today:

  • “completely satisfied” – 8%
  • “somewhat satisfied” – 24%

The combined 32% satisfied rating is down 11points since two years ago… and is the lowest percentage since Gallup began asking the question in 1999.[3]

Dissatisfaction in the quality of public education has risen to a record 67%.

Pew Research and PDK International both obtained similar results.[4]

The U.S. is now in an era of “education depression” or “learning recession” according to education reformers and researchers.[5]

2. You won’t believe what some school districts are teaching kids.

Let me tell you the shocking overview of what is being taught in math, in managing emotions, in social studies, and in gender identity and sex education.

In math:

Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction is advertised as an “integrated approach” to math for grades 6 through 8 that “addresses barriers to math equity” for Black, Latino, and multilingual students.[6]

This curriculum tells teachers that pointing out student errors, emphasizing getting the correct answer, and requiring students to show their work constitute a form of white supremacy.

Reliable statistics aren’t available regarding how many school districts across the country are using this curriculum.

Contact your local school board or your county school district administration to find out if “Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction” is used in your local public or private school.

In managing emotions:

Social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum is used by an estimated 83% of K-12 public schools.[7]

It’s especially widespread at the high school level.

SEL is geared to teach students attitudes such as:

  • empathy
  • managing emotions
  • setting goals

The purpose of SEL is to help kids develop the life skills they need to succeed academically and socially – so they will be better prepared for college and the workforce.

Although it sounds good, there are several downsides to SEL:

  1. It effectively replaces parental guidance in the student’s life.
  2. It replaces and de-emphasizes academic subject matter.
  3. It promotes a social and political agenda that may not align with the beliefs and values of parents.

In social studies:

The House Committee on Education and Workforce released a report recently on social studies curriculum used in some blue states.

As an example, school districts in Berkeley, CA and in Philadelphia, PA are using social studies curricula in multiple grade levels that:

  • Teach history as a story of Marxist class struggle between the “oppressed” and their “oppressors”
  • Teach that the U.S. and Israel – along with their free-market economies – are villains
  • Expose students to anti-Semitic ideology[8]

In gender identity and sex education:

We covered this subject area in detail in our recent article, “Gender/Sex Education Indoctrination Exposed: K-12 Public School Horror Story – 6 Things You Should Know about What Children Are Being Taught.”

Click HERE to read it.

LGBTQ groups create sex-education and gender-identity curricula and promote it to district school boards nationwide.

In addition, state legislatures sometimes enact measures promoting gender dysphoria and gender transition in school-age children.

For example, California enacted AB 1955 in 2024, which prohibits school districts from requiring teachers to notify parents if a student decides to change genders.[9]

3. How cultural chaos promoted in public schools is creating emotional chaos in kids.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is the world’s largest international comparative survey of 15-year-old students in 23 affluent countries.

PISA measures the abilities of high school students to use their knowledge and skills in reading, math and science to meet real-life challenges.[10]

Each survey also assesses student attitudes of well-being based on how they respond to 6 statements.

America’s 15-year-old students have ranked near the bottom of economically affluent countries for several years.[11]

In a different survey of youth depression in adolescents and teenagers – aged 10 to 19 – U.S. kids ranked second-to-last out of 112 higher-income countries.[12]

4. Despite the bad news, there are signs of hope for public education.

The group Defending Education works to foster a public education environment that is free from discrimination and political agendas by:

  • Protecting First Amendment freedoms
  • Promoting equal opportunity without pushing for equal outcomes
  • Encouraging the free exchange of ideas without discrimination

In 2026, they scored all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia on five major education categories:

  • Gender and sexuality
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
  • Parental rights
  • Teacher policies
  • Foreign influence and funding[13]

Their report is called Helping Public Schools Rise: Rankings on Integrity in State Education (RISE).

For each of the 5 categories, Defending Education ranked public schools in the following areas:

Gender and Sexuality:

  • Gender and Sexuality topics in curricula
  • Policy on transgender students in sports
  • Gender identity in state discrimination laws
  • Gender identity in anti-bullying laws

DEI Content:

  • “Restorative Justice” policies in school discipline
  • Racial disaggregation of discipline data
  • Anti-DEI legislation
  • Teacher diversity goals and data collection
  • State-funded teacher retention inniatives
  • Anti-Semitism policies

Parental rights:

  • Disclosure of transgender status of students
  • Disclosure of sex education content and participation

Teacher policies:

  • Work authorization requirements
  • Right-to-work laws
  • Laws regarding teacher strikes
  • Collective bargaining laws

Foreign influence and funding:

  • Chinese influence in U.S. education

The top-ranked state in public education in these 5 categories is Tennessee, followed by:

  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • North Carolina
  • Iowa

Washington, D.C. ranked the worst. The other states ranked lowest are:

  • Rhode Island – #47
  • California – #48
  • Oregon – #49
  • Illinois – #50

To see where your state ranks – and to read the details of the scoring criteria for each of the metrics – click HERE.

What do you think? Email me at [email protected].

Action:

  1. Find out more about Defending Education – including how the organization is working to improve public education, and how you can support its work. Click HERE.
  2. Get my book The Great Deception: 10 Shocking Dangers and the Blueprint for Rescuing the American Dream. Click HERE to order the book online.You can order the book on AmazonOr get the audiobook version HERE and on Kindle HERE.You can also get an autographed edition online HERE or by phone at 615-814-6633 (M-F 10 am to 3 pm).

    You can also send a check for $26.13 (including shipping) payable to Media Specialists and send it to this address:

    Media Specialists
    1313 4th Ave N
    Nashville, TN 37208

FAQs:

Q: What is driving the cultural chaos in America?
A: Cultural chaos is driven in part by radical political, religious, and social activist groups promoting socialist/Marxist ideology, and in part by the abandonment of traditional moral values (including belief in the God of the Bible).

Q: How are U.S. public schools exacerbating cultural chaos?
A: Public schools reflect and amplify cultural chaos by incorporating curricula on gender identity ideology, Critical Race Theory (CRT), antisemitism, “equitable math,” Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Diversity/Equity/Inclusion (DEI), and history framed as class warfare between the oppressed and their exploiters.

Q: How satisfied are Americans with the quality of K-12 public education?
A: A Gallup poll from August showed only 32% of adults are satisfied (8% completely satisfied + 24% somewhat satisfied). This is the lowest level since Gallup began tracking the question in 1999. Dissatisfaction stands at a record 67%.

Q: What is “Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction” and why is it controversial?
A: It is an integrated math approach for grades 6–8 that tells teachers that emphasizing correct answers, pointing out student errors, and requiring students to show their work are forms of white supremacy.

Q: What is Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and what are its downsides?
A; SEL is used in an estimated 83% of K-12 public schools. It aims to teach empathy, emotion management, goal-setting, and related life skills to prepare students for college and work. It effectively replaces parental guidance and reduces time spent on academic subjects.

Q: How are social studies curricula portraying history and current issues in some districts?
A: In some large progressive school districts, history is framed as a Marxist class struggle between “oppressed” and “oppressors,” with the U.S. and Israel – and other free-market economies – depicted as villains.

Q: What is happening with gender identity and sex education in public schools?
A: LGBTQ advocacy groups develop and promote sex-education and gender-identity curricula to school boards nationwide. Some state laws prohibit school districts from requiring teachers to notify parents when a student decides to change genders.

Q; What impacts do U.S. public school curricula and social environment have on students’ emotional well-being?
A: In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) of 15-year-olds across 23 affluent countries, U.S. students rank near the bottom on attitudes of well-being. In a separate survey of youth depression (ages 10–19), U.S. adolescents ranked second-to-last out of 112 higher-income countries.

Q: What options do parents have if they object to these curricula?
A: Parents who want to limit exposure to these ideologies can choose private schools (not subject to the same state curriculum controls) or homeschooling.

Q: What is Defending Education and what does its RISE report show?
A: Defending Education is a national grassroots nonprofit that protects First Amendment freedoms, promotes equal opportunity (not equal outcomes), and encourages the free exchange of ideas without discrimination.

In 2026 it released “Helping Public Schools Rise: Rankings on Integrity in State Education (RISE),” scoring all 50 states plus D.C. on five categories: gender and sexuality, DEI, parental rights, teacher policies, and foreign influence/funding.
Top-ranked states: Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa.
Lowest-ranked: Washington, D.C. (worst), followed by Rhode Island (#47), California (#48), Oregon (#49), and Illinois (#50). Full rankings and scoring details are available on the organization’s website.

About Craig Huey:

Craig Huey is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and publisher of The Huey Alert and Direct Marketing Update. Craig appears on national media such as FOX, FOX Business, Newsmax and more. He also co-hosts The Huey Alert Podcast with his wife Shelly and helps business leaders, Christians, conservatives, libertarians, young people and more understand the intersection of faith, politics, and freedom.

[1] https://defendinged.org/about-us/

[2] Megan Brenen, https://news.gallup.com/poll/714017/satisfaction-education-hits-new-low.aspx

[3] Ibid.

[4] John Valant, Nicolas Zerbino, and Emma Mills, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/a-snapshot-of-americas-schools-trends-and-global-comparisons/

[5] Ibid.

[6] https://stemtlnet.org/resources/pathway-equitable-math-instruction.html

[7] Kevin Bushweller, https://www.edweek.org/leadership/does-social-emotional-learning-really-work-educators-had-a-lot-to-say/2025/01

[8] Joshua Arnold, https://washingtonstand.com/article/congressional-investigation-exposes-farleft-indoctrination-in-progressive-school-districts

[9] https://larrysand.substack.com/p/cultural-chaos-and-our-kids

[10] https://www.oecd.org/en/about/programmes/pisa.html

[11] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/a-snapshot-of-americas-schools-trends-and-global-comparisons/

[12] https://stateofnation.org/measure/youth-depression/

[13] https://defendinged.org/projects/helping-public-schools-rise-rankings-on-integrity-in-state-education-rise/