The Chilling Effects of Tennessee’s Prohibited Concepts Law: What Is the Potential Role of School Board Members and Superintendents?

Prohibited concept laws have a chilling effect on teaching, resulting in the erasure of social justice topics; however, the extent to which district-level actors support such laws or the role they play in perpetuating the effect is unclear. I offer a framework for understanding how district-level po...

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Main Author: Amanda Slaten Frasier
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2024-12-01
Series:AERA Open
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584241304750
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author Amanda Slaten Frasier
author_facet Amanda Slaten Frasier
author_sort Amanda Slaten Frasier
collection DOAJ
description Prohibited concept laws have a chilling effect on teaching, resulting in the erasure of social justice topics; however, the extent to which district-level actors support such laws or the role they play in perpetuating the effect is unclear. I offer a framework for understanding how district-level policy messaging contributes to the chilling effect in the context of increased partisanship and nationalized politics at the local level. I use survey data to describe school board members’ and superintendents’ perceptions of Tennessee’s PK–12 Prohibited Concepts Law. Overall, there is support for the law, but there are significant differences between the perspectives of school board members and superintendents, with the latter more likely to express neutrality. There are no differences by location, but there are significant differences based on political affiliation and perspectives about state control of curriculum, supporting the larger trend of increased nationalized partisanship of local politics.
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spelling doaj-art-9abee99d6adf41ce991cf2dd593d37512025-08-20T02:36:19ZengSAGE PublishingAERA Open2332-85842024-12-011010.1177/23328584241304750The Chilling Effects of Tennessee’s Prohibited Concepts Law: What Is the Potential Role of School Board Members and Superintendents?Amanda Slaten FrasierProhibited concept laws have a chilling effect on teaching, resulting in the erasure of social justice topics; however, the extent to which district-level actors support such laws or the role they play in perpetuating the effect is unclear. I offer a framework for understanding how district-level policy messaging contributes to the chilling effect in the context of increased partisanship and nationalized politics at the local level. I use survey data to describe school board members’ and superintendents’ perceptions of Tennessee’s PK–12 Prohibited Concepts Law. Overall, there is support for the law, but there are significant differences between the perspectives of school board members and superintendents, with the latter more likely to express neutrality. There are no differences by location, but there are significant differences based on political affiliation and perspectives about state control of curriculum, supporting the larger trend of increased nationalized partisanship of local politics.https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584241304750
spellingShingle Amanda Slaten Frasier
The Chilling Effects of Tennessee’s Prohibited Concepts Law: What Is the Potential Role of School Board Members and Superintendents?
AERA Open
title The Chilling Effects of Tennessee’s Prohibited Concepts Law: What Is the Potential Role of School Board Members and Superintendents?
title_full The Chilling Effects of Tennessee’s Prohibited Concepts Law: What Is the Potential Role of School Board Members and Superintendents?
title_fullStr The Chilling Effects of Tennessee’s Prohibited Concepts Law: What Is the Potential Role of School Board Members and Superintendents?
title_full_unstemmed The Chilling Effects of Tennessee’s Prohibited Concepts Law: What Is the Potential Role of School Board Members and Superintendents?
title_short The Chilling Effects of Tennessee’s Prohibited Concepts Law: What Is the Potential Role of School Board Members and Superintendents?
title_sort chilling effects of tennessee s prohibited concepts law what is the potential role of school board members and superintendents
url https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584241304750
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