The Diverging State of Teaching and Learning Two Years into Classroom Limitations on Race or Gender: Findings from the 2023 American Instructional Resources Survey. American Educator Panels. Research Report. RR-A134-22

In April 2021, Idaho became the first state to pass a policy restricting teachers' discussion of race- or gender-related topics. Over the next two years, 17 more states followed suit and passed similar restrictions through state legislatures, state boards of education, state attorneys general, and executive orders. Using nationally representative survey data from more than 8,000 kindergarten through grade 12 public school teachers across the United States in spring 2023, the authors take stock of how classroom limitations on addressing race- or gender-related topics are influencing teachers' instruction and students' learning two years after the first state enacted such a restriction. The authors examine how teachers' awareness of state restrictions and their perceptions of the influence of limitations on their instruction have shifted since spring 2022. Drawing on open-ended survey responses from thousands of teachers, the authors further examine teachers' reports of how limitations are impacting student learning. The authors explore how teachers' awareness and reports of the influence of limitations on their instruction and student learning vary by teachers' state policy context and local political climate.