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An investigation by parental rights advocates found Southern Poverty Law Center educational materials and social justice standards referenced throughout public school systems, state education departments, and professional education organizations in dozens of states.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Educational materials tied to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice initiative are being used or referenced by nearly 200 school districts and roughly 30 state-level government education entities across 42 states and Washington, D.C., according to an investigation conducted by parental rights organization Defending Ed, and reported by Just the News.
New Defending Ed tracker shows SPLC’s reach into K-12 classrooms.
Check out our full report 🔗 https://t.co/ULGWYsy8Gr pic.twitter.com/df0MwAF6wj
— Defending Education (@DefendingEd) May 16, 2026
The report found that SPLC curriculum materials — previously distributed under the Teaching Tolerance brand before being renamed Learning for Justice in 2021 — appear throughout public school lesson plans, equity programs, social-emotional learning initiatives, diversity policies, teacher training programs, and social justice standards.
According to the investigation, many of the materials remain publicly accessible through school district websites, state education department portals, teachers union resources, and professional education organizations.
SPLC Curriculum in K-12_ Learning for Justice_Teaching Tolerance Tracker – Defending Education by yourNEWS Media
The SPLC stated during the 2021 rebranding that “tolerance is not justice,” according to its announcement.
The report identified references to Learning for Justice and Teaching Tolerance materials inside education systems in a number of Republican-led states, including state education departments in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, and North Dakota.
The materials also appeared in organizations connected to school governance and educator development, including school board associations in Alaska and Oklahoma, a principals association in Kentucky, and a parent-teacher association initiative in Utah.
Defending Ed reported that districts in several conservative-leaning states — including Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas — were also identified as using SPLC-linked educational resources.
The organization argued that the materials promote concepts involving anti-racism, identity politics, gender ideology, white privilege, Black Lives Matter activism, intersectionality, and social justice activism.
One example highlighted by the report involved Teaching Tolerance materials discussing white privilege and a companion resource stating that simply recognizing white privilege “can be harmful and counterproductive” unless individuals actively oppose it through political and social action, according to another document.
The investigation stated that these materials have appeared on school district diversity and equity webpages, including resources published by Springfield Township School District in suburban Philadelphia.
The district also linked to Learning for Justice’s printable “One World” posters intended for classroom display.
The report further noted that both Teaching Tolerance and Learning for Justice are recommended by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian for educational use with fourth-grade students, according to the museum’s resource materials.
Learning for Justice states in its educational framework, “To build a multiracial inclusive democracy requires educating for liberation and civic and political participation across the South and the nation.”
The report also connected SPLC educational standards to broader K-12 curriculum systems. The National Sex Education Standards, which Defending Ed said have been adopted by 41% of school districts according to the standards’ second edition, acknowledged that they were informed by SPLC’s Social Justice Standards.
Those standards were developed by a coalition identified by InfluenceWatch as progressive advocacy organizations rather than federal agencies.
Defending Ed described the Social Justice Standards as promoting identity-based political frameworks and collective activism through K-12 instruction. One cited example from the standards encouraged students to “celebrate all of my in-group and out-group identities and work to understand how they overlap to make up who I am as an individual.”
The organization also pointed to the American School Counselor Association’s Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors, which identified SPLC’s Social Justice Standards as one of the primary influences behind its counseling framework.
According to the report, the standards may extend further into public education than currently documented because many curricula, lesson plans, and educational materials are not publicly accessible.
The investigation stated that teachers may independently integrate social justice and equity standards into assignments and classroom instruction, making their use more difficult to track.
Defending Ed also identified examples involving outside consulting firms and labor organizations. The group cited an equity audit conducted in Rhode Island’s North Providence School District and training sessions organized by the American Federation of Teachers that discussed incorporating social justice standards into classroom instruction.
The report additionally argued that some school systems have resisted public records requests involving curriculum transparency through copyright claims, legal threats, or high document production fees.
Previous reporting by Just the News documented disputes involving curriculum access, psychological intervention records, and school transparency battles between parents and school districts.
The SPLC has also faced growing scrutiny in recent years over its “hate map,” which has labeled various conservative, religious, parental rights, and immigration-focused organizations as extremist groups.
Among those identified by the SPLC are Turning Point USA, Defending Ed, Moms for Liberty chapters, the Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom, and Gays Against Groomers.
The Family Research Council’s inclusion on the SPLC map drew renewed attention after a 2013 attack at the organization’s Washington headquarters.
The investigation comes amid broader political debates over curriculum transparency, diversity and equity initiatives, social-emotional learning programs, and parental oversight in public education systems nationwide.
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