Week in Review: The Future of Freedom

Our freedoms are worth defending. After all, our nation’s promise of liberty for all has delivered prosperity to millions of Americans across countless generations. At the Goldwater Institute’s Annual Dinner and 35th Anniversary Celebration on Friday in Phoenix—headlined by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, one of the nation’s foremost advocates for constitutional governance—hundreds of our supporters and friends marked 35 years of defending those freedoms and looked forward to what we can achieve in the years to come.

It’s our responsibility to fight for freedom so that future generations can pursue their American Dream, too. That was a prominent theme emphasized by speakers like Sen. Cruz, whose live recording of his hit podcast Verdict highlighted the evening’s program, and conservative writer and podcaster Christian Watson, winner of the 2023 Goldwater Institute Freedom Award. By standing up for the principles of justice and equality under the law, Christian, a young American speaking out for the next generation, is showing the country what it truly means to love and appreciate the blessings of liberty.

At Goldwater, we’ll never stop fighting to preserve our liberties—so that today’s generations and the ones to come can live freer, happier lives.

You can read more about Goldwater’s Annual Dinner here. 

Goldwater Defends Parents’ Rights in Maine Federal Court

Public schools keeping parents in the dark? Not on Goldwater’s watch.

This week at Maine’s federal district courthouse, Goldwater Institute Staff Attorney Adam Shelton took public school officials to task for deliberately keeping secrets from concerned mom Amber Lavigne about her 13-year-old daughter’s health and wellbeing.

Amber was shocked to find out that school officials had been driving a wedge between her and her daughter—one school employee even advised the student not to tell her parents what was going on with her health. With Goldwater’s help, Amber is now suing the Great Salt Bay Community School Board for violating her constitutionally protected parental rights.

As Shelton told the court, parents have a fundamental right to control and direct the education, upbringing, and healthcare decisions of their children. But parents cannot meaningfully exercise this right if public schools are hiding vital information from them.

And that’s exactly what public schools nationwide are doing, hiding curriculum content, matters of health, and more from concerned moms and dads. But Goldwater won’t let the public education apparatus win: in courtrooms and capitols from Maine to Rhode Island to Texas to New Jersey—just to name a few—we’re standing up for parents every step of the way.

Read more here. 

DEI Disrupted in Oklahoma

There’s a new challenge threatening academic freedom in higher education: the pervasive influence of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), a toxic, race-based ideology that falsely claims America is a structurally racist nation. But the Goldwater Institute is spearheading the fight to defeat DEI, and in Oklahoma, our experts recently presented our plan to restore true academic freedom.

“Nothing has a greater impact on the students than the substance of the instruction that is given to them,” Goldwater Director of Education Policy Matt Beienburg told Oklahoma lawmakers.

That’s why Goldwater’s Freedom from Indoctrination Act prohibits public universities from requiring DEI coursework. Another Goldwater reform, Abolish DEI Bureaucracies—which the Institute passed this year in Texas—eliminates DEI administrator positions and bans mandatory DEI training sessions in public higher ed.

Our third legislative solution dismantles the campus thought police by eliminating public university-operated bias reporting systems that encourage students and staff to report peers for politically incorrect speech. Finally, Goldwater’s Campus Free Speech Act, which we’ve enacted in five states, reaffirms the First Amendment and requires state-run universities to uphold its principles.

Educational freedom is vital to the flourishing of a vibrant society. And Goldwater is committed to preserving quality education and fostering free expression in American universities.

Read more here.