Republicans’ classroom gagging bills are ‘attack on education’, report says

Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida signs the controversial ‘don’t say gay’ bill at Classical preparatory school in Shady Hills, Florida, in March. Photograph: Douglas R Clifford/AP

Republicans have mounted an “attack on education” in 2022, according to a report, as lawmakers have introduced a soaring number of bills aimed at limiting classroom discussion of race and LGBTQ+ issues.

The number of “educational gag orders” introduced has increased by 250% compared with 2021, according to PEN America, a non-profit organization that works to protect freedom of expression in the US, as Republican legislators have sought to censor discussion of race and LGBTQ+ issues from the classroom.