From Scopes to Silence: A Socio-Legal History of Curricular Censorship and the Rise of Educational Gag Orders

Dr. LaWanda W. M. Ward
Associate Professor of Higher Education, African Studies, and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education
The Pennsylvania State University – University Park Campus

Monday, February 16, 2026

Teams

12:30-1:30PM

Abstract: This presentation situates contemporary educational gag order laws within a broader socio-legal history of curricular censorship in U.S. education. Tracing the arc from the Scopes trial through loyalty oaths, book bans, and today's legislation restricting instruction on topics labeled as “divisive”, this talk examines how law has been deployed to regulate knowledge production and constrain pedagogical freedom. Analyzing the legal architecture of these efforts alongside First Amendment jurisprudence and academic freedom doctrine, Dr. Ward explores how current laws function and their effects on faculty. The presentation concludes by examining the chilling effects on instruction and implications for academic freedom and democratic education.