This is Jennifer Gonzalez, welcoming you to episode 246 of the Cult of Pedagogy podcast.

In this episode, we're going to talk about how to keep teaching well when DEI is under attack.

I did not plan this one, but recent events have prompted me to add this episode to my schedule.

Last week, on February 27, 2025, under the directive of the new U.S. administration,

the Department of Education launched a portal.

It has nicknamed the NDI portal.

This online form is a place for, quote, students, parents, teachers, and the broader community to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.

Here is what Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, said about the portal in the Department

of Education's press release.

Quote, for years parents have been begging schools to focus on teaching their kids practical skills

like reading, writing, and math, instead of pushing critical theory, rogue sex education,

and divisive ideologies. But their concerns have been brushed off, mocked, or shut down entirely.

Parents, now is the time that you share the receipts of the betrayal that has happened in our public schools.

This webpage demonstrates that President Trump's Department of Education is putting power back in the hands of parents.

End quote.

The announcement of this portal comes a month after the president released the ending radical

indoctrination in K-12 schooling executive order, eliminating federal funding or support

for, quote, illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools,

including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.

Both of these developments have naturally caused a lot of concern for anyone who teaches in a publicly funded K-12 school.

And these concerns are absolutely legitimate. Many of the practices I have

personally advocated for on cult of pedagogy, like calling students by their preferred names and

...