In response to the increasing prevalence of ideologically driven perspectives in K–12 classrooms, CAMERA and Stop Hate in Schools have developed a database and interactive map that tracks the influence of some of the most prominent curriculum providers advancing these perspectives in school districts across the country.
Tracking Ideological Curriculum Providers in K-12 Schools highlights Rethinking Schools and its affiliated Zinn Education Project, a nonprofit publisher and advocacy organization and a curriculum initiative, respectively, that often frame historical and contemporary issues through a distorting oppressor–oppressed lens and have gained significant influence in teachers unions, the national social studies professional organization, and social studies classrooms across the country.
Following the October 7 attacks, Rethinking Schools and the Zinn Education Project distributed classroom resources addressing the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. These resources frame the conflict and Zionism as a racist, settler colonial project. The CAMERA and Stop Hate in Schools project documents where such resources appear to be used in schools based on publicly available information. In the School District of Philadelphia, for example, where several contributors to Rethinking Schools and the Zinn Education Project are teachers, resources from these organizations are used to demonize Israel.[1]
The Activist Curriculum Organizations
The CAMERA and Stop Hate in Schools project encompasses not only materials related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the broader body of Rethinking Schools and Zinn Education Project content, based on concerns that this intersectional framework may offer an overly simplified narrative of history and encourage often ill-informed student activism.
Rethinking Schools
Founded in 1986 by a group of self-described “education activists,” Rethinking Schools emerged, in the telling of its founders, from concerns about what they characterized as a “conservative, dumbed-down” system dominated by corporate-produced textbooks and permeated by racial bias at every level of schooling. The organization was established to elevate “alternative” perspectives through a quarterly magazine and now describes itself as the “preeminent publisher of social justice education in the United States.” Rethinking Schools reports that since 1991 it has sold more than 300,000 copies of its publications.[2]
Rethinking Schools has published three magazines since 2024 on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Teach Palestine, Teaching Palestine, and Don’t Stop Teaching About Gaza. All three publications, which include essays and lesson plans for K-12, utilize limited historical facts and context to drive their ultimate conclusion: Israel is a settler-colonial, apartheid state that must be destroyed. Don’t Stop Teaching About Gaza goes a step further appropriating Judaism to undermine Jewish identity and connection to Israel.
Zinn Education Project
Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change, another K-12 social justice education nonprofit, created the Zinn Education Project (ZEP) in 2008. Named after Howard Zinn, the self-described anarchist/socialist author of A People’s History of the United States, ZEP provides lessons, book recommendations, webinars, and national advocacy days for teachers. ZEP claims that 175,000 teachers have signed up for access to its free lessons.
After October 7, ZEP created a page devoted to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The resources did not strive for accuracy and nuance but rather used simplistic framing to portray Israel as a racist, colonial settler state and the Palestinians as victims without agency.
Rethinking Schools and the Zinn Education Project are highly influential curriculum organizations. Its representatives are frequent presenters at conferences hosted by the National Council for the Social Studies, the primary professional association for social studies teachers, and are regularly featured in publications of the nation’s largest teachers’ union, the National Education Association (NEA).
About Our Map
The CAMERA and Stop Hate in Schools project identifies where Rethinking Schools and Zinn Education Project teaching materials may be used. The dataset is not comprehensive and is based solely on publicly accessible information. Inclusion does not indicate official district adoption, endorsement, or required use, nor was the information independently verified with school districts. Absence from the map does not necessarily mean the schools do not use these materials.
This project is intended to support transparency and informed engagement. Inclusion of materials or organizations does not represent a determination of intent, nor does it constitute a comprehensive evaluation of all content produced by any provider. Community members are encouraged to contribute additional publicly verifiable information to support a more complete and accurate understanding of how instructional materials are used in K–12 classrooms.
For assistance in addressing curricular issues in your school, please contact CAMERA by emailing schools@camera.org
[1] For examples of Zinn Education Project resources used in the School District of Philadelphia, see: https://www.camera.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Shaping-Minds-Spreading-Hate-Philadelphia-Schools-Bias-Report-CAMERA.pdf.
[2] https://rethinkingschools.org/about-rethinking-schools/our-history/