April, 16 2025, 02:02pm EDT

Students Sue Department of Defense Schools Over Curriculum Changes, Book Bans
Students around the globe impacted by censorship of materials about race and gender in military-run schools
QUANTICO, Virginia
Students in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools on military bases sued today, arguing that DoDEA’s book removals and curricular changes following several executive orders from President Donald Trump violate their First Amendment rights. DoDEA operates 161 schools across 11 countries, seven states, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
The suit was filed on behalf of 12 students from six families, ranging in age from pre-K to 11th grade, that attend DoDEA schools as children of active duty servicemembers stationed in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy, and Japan. Since January, their schools have systemically removed books, altered curricula, and canceled events that the government has accused of promoting “gender ideology” or “divisive equity ideology.” This has included materials about slavery, Native American history, LGBTQ identities and history, and preventing sexual harassment and abuse, as well as portions of the Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology curriculum.
“Learning is a sacred and foundational right that is now being limited for students in DoDEA schools,” said Natalie Tolley, a plaintiff on behalf of her three children in DoDEA schools. “The implementation of these EOs, without any due process or parental or professional input, is a violation of our children's right to access information that prevents them from learning about their own histories, bodies, and identities. I have three daughters, and they, like all children, deserve access to books that both mirror their own life experiences and that act as windows that expose them to greater diversity. The administration has now made that verboten in DoDEA schools.”
In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed three executive orders which led to these removals: Executive Order (EO) 14168 titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”; EO 14185 titled “Restoring America’s Fighting Force”; and EO 14190 titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” The suit names Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and administrators of the DoDEA system, arguing that by revoking students’ access to books and curricula about race and gender, defendants are harming students’ First Amendment right to receive information.
“Students in DoDEA schools, though they are members of military families, have the same First Amendment rights as all students,” said Emerson Sykes, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “Like everyone else, they deserve classrooms where they are free to read, speak, and learn about themselves, their neighbors, and the world around them. These schools are some of the most diverse and high achieving in the nation, making it particularly insulting to strip their shelves of diverse books and erase women, LGBTQ people, and people of color from the curriculum to serve a political goal. Our clients deserve better, and the First Amendment demands it.”
The Department of Defense has also prohibited cultural awareness months, including Black History Month, Pride Month, Women’s History Month, and National Hispanic Heritage Month. Schools have also released guidance for yearbooks to prohibit students from using them to promote “gender ideology” or “social transition.” Books banned within some DoDEA schools have reportedly included “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini; “Freckleface Strawberry” by Julianne Moore; “Hillbilly Elegy” by Vice President JD Vance; “The Antiracist Kid” by Tiffany Jewell; and a preparation guide for the AP Psychology exam.
“By quarantining library books and whitewashing curricula in its civilian schools, the Department of Defense Education Activity is violating students’ First Amendment rights,” said Matt Callahan, senior supervising attorney at the ACLU of Virginia. “The government can’t scrub references to race and gender from public school libraries and classrooms just because the Trump administration doesn’t like certain viewpoints on those topics.”
“Our clients have a right to receive an education that includes an open and honest dialogue about America’s history,” said Corey Shapiro, legal director for the ACLU of Kentucky. “Censoring books and canceling assignments about the contributions of Black Americans is not only wrong, but antithetical to our First Amendment rights.”
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Virginia, and the ACLU of Kentucky.
The complaint can be viewed here: https://www.aclu-ky.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/ek_v_dodea_-_2025.04.15_ecf_001_-_complaint.pdf
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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US-Iran Talks Delayed for 'Logistical Reasons' After Hegseth Social Media Threat
"With sufficient will, the negotiations can reach the finish line and avert the risks of a disastrous war and Iranian weaponization of its nuclear program," said the National Iranian American Council's policy director.
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Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi announced on social media Thursday that a fourth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks planned for this coming weekend has been postponed—just hours after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly threatened Iran.
However, al-Busaidi, who has mediated the previous rounds of negotiations, did not address the U.S. threat. He claimed on social media that the delay was due to "logistical reasons" and "new dates will be announced when mutually agreed."
As The Associated Pressreported:
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei issued a statement describing the talks as being "postponed at the request of Oman's foreign minister." He said Iran remains committed to reaching "a fair and lasting agreement."
Meanwhile, a person familiar with the U.S. negotiators said that America "had never confirmed its participation" in a fourth round of talks in Rome. However, the person said the U.S. expected the talks to occur "in the near future." The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.
During U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, he ditched the Iran nuclear deal negotiated under the Obama administration. After Trump returned to the Oval Office in January, Vice President JD Vance had to cast a tiebreaking vote to confirm Hegseth, whose tenure as Pentagon chief thus far has been marred by controversy and accusations of ineptitude.
Hegseth—a former Fox News host who faces mounting calls to resign after sharing U.S. plans to bomb Yemen in multiple chats on the commercial messaging application Signal—addressed Iran's support for the Houthis, a Yemeni group, in a late Wednesday social media post.
"Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to the Houthis," he said. "We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of—and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing."
Hegseth's initial post was from his Pentagon account. He also
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In response to Hegseth, journalist Ryan Grim asked, "This because our jet fell off our boat?"
A $60 million U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet recently went overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman after the aircraft carrier turned to evade Houthi fire, according to a U.S. official.
Republican Congressman Thomas Massie (Ky.)—who has a history of joining with Democrats to criticize military action without a declaration of war, particularly in Yemen—responded: "I support this administration, but the secretary of defense doesn't have the constitutional authority to declare war on a sovereign country. A planned military attack on Iran is an act of war and requires a vote of Congress according to the U.S. Constitution."
Ryan Costello, policy director of the National Iranian American Council, said in a statement that "Trump entered office with a deficit of effective U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East, not a deficit of threats or bombing. Where the administration has led with diplomacy and sustained that focus, they've delivered some positive results. Where the administration has let bombs lead the way, like the Biden administration before them, we've seen security worsen and sustainable solutions move further from reach."
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U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and a top deputy have been fired from the Trump administration, with more dismissals expected imminently in the wake of the "Signalgate" scandal, insiders familiar with the decision told multiple major media outlets on Thursday.
Fox Newsconfirmed that Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong were fired Thursday, and that more staffers are likely to be terminated. Calls for Waltz's resignation mounted amid revelations that the former Republican congressman and members of his staff created at least 20 group chats on the encrypted messaging application Signal to coordinate official work on sensitive foreign policy issues.
"Waltz's firing is just the beginning of the overdue accountability that the American people."
In one of the most egregious incidents of the scandal, Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other top Trump administration officials added a journalist to a Signal group chat about plans to bomb Yemen.
"I take full responsibility. I built the group," Waltz acknowledged in a March 25 Fox News interview. "It's embarrassing. We're going to get to the bottom of it."
It was later revealed that Hegseth shared Yemen war plans in a second private group chat whose members included relatives and his personal lawyer.
It is unclear who will replace Waltz. Steve Witkoff—President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East—is considered a top contender for the job.
Trump publicly defended Waltz and his national security team throughout the scandal, telling reporters last month that they've "had big success with the Houthis," the Yemeni rebel group targeted by U.S.-led airstrikes that have killed and wounded hundreds of people, reportedly including more than 150 civilians and scores of African migrants at a detention center.
Waltz appeared on
Fox News' "Fox and Friends" just hours before he was sacked, lavishing praise upon Trump and Hegseth:
Mike Waltz was on Fox & Friends just hours before his firing slathering praise on Trump and Pete Hegseth
[image or embed]
— Aaron Rupar ( @atrupar.com) May 1, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Responding to Waltz's ouster, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) took a sardonic swipe at Hegseth on social media.
"Pete Hegseth shows real leadership by passing the blame to Mike Waltz," she wrote. "Was it Waltz who set up Signal on Hegseth's office computer and added his wife, brother, and lawyer in a war plan group chat?"
Democratic strategist Mike Nellis also zeroed in on the defense secretary,
writing on the social media site X that "firing Waltz is an admission of guilt by the administration about the leaking of classified war plans."
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Sean Vitka, executive director of the online activist group Demand Progress, said that Waltz' firing underscores the need for a Signalgate probe—which Republicans in the House of Representatives blocked on Tuesday.
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"Mike Waltz has left the chat," he said.
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"There is an alternative to the billionaire vision of the world."
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With right-wing, pro-corporate political parties across the world aggressively pushing anti-immigration policies and sentiment as they worsen inequality and attack crucial services, working people across the world gathered on Thursday to mark May Day—the holiday memorializing the struggles and victories of the global labor movement—and to let those in power know they aren't fooled by xenophobic scapegoating.
"They tell people that migrants are to blame for failing hospitals, job insecurity, and rising rents," said Esther Lynch, general secretary of the European Trade Union Conference in Paris. "This is a lie—a dangerous lie. The true cause is austerity, it is underfunding, privatization, and a refusal to invest in people. It's price gauging, it's union busting, it's pay injustice."
Here are photos from demonstrations and marches worldwide:
May Day 2025 in Pictures
Protesters with red flags raise their fists as they march during a May Day (Labour Day) rally, marking International Workers' Day, outside the Greek Parliament in Athens, on May 1, 2025. (Photo: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images)
Paris was the site of France's main May Day rally, but an estimated 260 protests kicked off throughout the country, hosted by the General Confederation of France (CGT).
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"This is a war on working people—and we will not stand down," a website for the U.S. May Day protests reads. "They're defunding our schools, privatizing public services, attacking unions, and targeting immigrant families with fear and violence. Working people built this nation and we know how to take care of each other. We won't back down—we will never stop fighting for our families and the rights and freedoms that propel opportunity and a better life for all Americans. Their time is up."
French union leaders also used the occasion to decry the "Trumpization" of global politics, and Italian protesters in Turin paraded a puppet of the U.S. president.
The global movement sent the message that "there is an alternative to the billionaire vision of the world," said the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Other May Day marches and rallies were held in countries including Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, the Philippines, Turkey, and Japan.
"Around the world, workers are being denied the basics of life like well-funded hospitals and schools, living wages, and freedom to move, while billionaires pocket record profits and unimaginable power," said Luc Triangle, general secretary of the ITUC. "A system built for the 0.0001% is rigged against the rest of us—but workers around the world are standing up and organizing to take back democracy."
"Workers are demanding a New Social Contract that works for them—not the billionaires undermining democracy," said Triangle. "Fair taxation, strong public services, living wages, and a just transition are not radical demands—they are the foundation of a just society."
On May 8, the ITUC plans to issue an open letter to heads of state and global institutions demanding a new social contract, including collective bargaining rights for all workers; minimum living wages; and governments that ensure universal healthcare, education, and other public services.
"Let us be clear: austerity is a political choice, not an economic necessity. And it is a choice that has caused and is causing enormous damage," said Lynch. "When governments slash spending under the guise of fiscal responsibility, the real result is increased hardship, unemployment, and insecurity—especially for working people."
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