Teenagers鈥� digital feeds are filled with graphic images and claims about U.S. immigration enforcement, including civilian deaths in Minneapolis; geopolitical brinkmanship involving Venezuela and Greenland; and ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. These events arrive on kids鈥� phones, compressed into memes and clips long before facts are verified or meaning can be made.

At the same time, schools are locked in public conflicts over cellphone and book bans, curriculum restrictions and artificial intelligence policies. In this environment, many educators understandably see avoidance of potentially contentious topics 鈥� including and 鈥� as a survival strategy. Discussing the war in the Middle East can be read as advocacy. Talking about immigration raids 鈥� or even the meaning of the rule of law 鈥� can spark backlash. Staying silent often feels safer.

But young people are not waiting for adults to dive in.

They encounter war, political upheaval and social fracture in the same digital spaces where they flirt, joke and pursue their interests. When something trends or becomes a meme, it immediately shows up in group chats, tests friendships and erupts in classrooms as debates over who belongs.

That is the civics problem hiding in plain sight: Young people are learning how public life works 鈥� grappling with evidence and the best resolutions to issues, especially when there are disagreements 鈥� in environments that reward certainty and spectacle while punishing nuance and humility.

Since 2024, our researchers have studied how young people and educators are navigating this reality. Through in-depth interviews with more than 100 middle and high school students, educators and school leaders in New York City and Southern California, as well as college students and faculty across the country, we examined how young people make sense of contentious events and decide what information to trust, and how digital media shapes their views and relationships. We are releasing those findings in a new report, .

We found that most teens do not hold extreme views but believe their peers are far more polarized than they are. Many care deeply about issues like immigration, antisemitism, racial justice and climate change but worry that what they say will be misunderstood or weaponized.

Young people are also keenly aware that digital environments distort what they see. They know algorithms are not neutral. Some try to block accounts, follow posts with different perspectives and like content on multiple sides of an issue. But they are also teenagers. They want their feeds to be social and affirming. And they can鈥檛 fact-check a disappearing clip the way they can revisit a textbook or compare sources side by side.

The result is a corrosive belief that we heard again and again: Nothing is really true. Every claim has a counterclaim. Every source has an agenda. When nothing feels verifiable, cynicism grows 鈥� and creates fertile ground for disengagement.

Teens see classrooms as one of the few places where they can slow down, ask real questions and change their minds. But school functions as a counterweight only when adults establish shared evidence standards and structured opportunities to practice disagreement over time.

This is where many schools are falling short 鈥� not because educators don鈥檛 care, but because they are being asked to improvise under pressure.

Teachers told us they view engaging complex, controversial issues as part of their responsibility to young people, but they fear being perceived as biased or vulnerable to backlash. In today鈥檚 climate, classrooms can feel like both a refuge and a pressure cooker.

Too often, the tools teachers reach for are fragmented: a digital literacy lesson that assumes students encounter information mainly through websites; lessons on active listening divorced from content that would require such skills; and content related to social issues that doesn鈥檛 match what students see in their feeds. Teens notice when discussions are avoided or abruptly shut down, making them confused and anxious.

If America’s education leaders are serious about civic learning, they cannot keep treating tough topics as extracurricular.

That includes conflicts like Israel-Palestine and the rise in antisemitism and xenophobia 鈥� issues that are deeply personal for many students. Our research probed students鈥� and teachers鈥� perspectives on teaching about the Middle East conflict because it is a strong example of what happens when young people are pressed to pick a side on a hotly contested topic before they have had time to learn, debate and sit with moral complexity. These challenges are not limited to any one issue; students we interviewed also disclosed how affected they were by other news they encountered first in their feeds, from Charlie Kirk鈥檚 assassination to immigration raids by ICE.

Schools cannot resolve geopolitics. But they can teach the habits of mind and heart that democratic life depends on. Our research points to three practical commitments that school systems and education leaders can act on now.

First, make evidence-building a core civic priority 鈥� not 鈥渕y truth鈥� and 鈥測our truth,鈥� but shared texts, verifiable sources and clear norms about what counts as evidence, both for in-person discussions and in digital forums, from social media to group chats.

Second, treat discourse as a practice, not a personality trait. Civil discourse is not about being nice. It is a teachable skill set: asking honest questions, acknowledging uncertainty, resisting easy answers, and maintaining peer relationships even in disagreement.

Third, teach tough topics with good guardrails. Avoidance does not protect students; it abandons them to confront challenging issues alone in digital spaces designed to amplify their outrage rather than understanding. What students need are structured opportunities 鈥� in classrooms 鈥� to slow down, examine evidence and ask hard questions.

Beyond those more immediate changes, teachers need longer-range help in managing rapid technological change 鈥� including how the content that students encounter online inevitably spills into the classroom. Schools need AI-driven learning tools that update easily to include current events, designed to help students learn how to transform information into knowledge and disagreements into deeper understanding of one another.

Young people are not asking for perfect adults or painless conversations. They are asking for adults who will not disappear when things get hard.

At a time when public life rewards outrage and withdrawal, schools are one of the last places where young people can be encouraged to lean into the discomfort of talking through their differences long enough to think, listen and better connect with ideas and with one another. That is education鈥檚 most urgent calling.

Maud Maron, who New York City Schools removed for 鈥�derogatory conduct鈥� in June, can now resume her post on lower Manhattan鈥檚 coveted District 2 council. She has also been criticized for making anti-transgender comments against students.聽

In her ruling, federal judge Diane Gujarati also deemed the New York City Department of Education鈥檚  anti-harassment policy 鈥� which was used to remove Maron 鈥� 鈥渃hilled 鈥� expression鈥� and likely violates the First Amendment because of its vague language.

The policy, D-210, is so unclear that it prevents 鈥渁 person of ordinary intelligence 鈥� before such person is subject to investigation鈥� from understanding what conduct is prohibited, the judge wrote.

Schools Chancellor David Banks removed Maron for comments made in the New York Post in which she called an anonymous Stuyvesant High School student author a 鈥渃oward鈥� and accused them of 鈥淛ew hatred鈥� for an op-ed accusing Israel of genocide in Palestine in the student paper.

In December, a 74 investigation revealed Maron also said in a private chat that, 鈥渢here is no such thing as trans kids,鈥� among other disparaging remarks. In response, Banks called Maron鈥檚 behavior 鈥渄espicable鈥� but did not include the anti-trans comments in documents outlining her removal. 

In a text, Maron told 社区黑料 Wednesday she was reinstated because, 鈥渇ree speech still means something in this country. The people who voted for me won today because they were also deprived of their voice by the Chancellor鈥檚 unconstitutional decision.鈥�

The judge鈥檚 decision was issued after Maron and two other parents sued the Department of Education, the education council for District 14 and its leadership for allegedly stifling their speech. Gujarti鈥檚 decision granted an injunction to stop the DOE from enforcing the anti-discrimination policy via removing council members. Their .

Department of Education officials said Gujarati鈥檚 decision makes it more difficult to safeguard children. 

鈥淲e are disappointed by a ruling that limits our ability to protect students from harmful conduct by parent leaders. Even prior to the court鈥檚 ruling, we began reviewing the applicable Chancellor鈥檚 regulation and are preparing to propose revisions and initiate our public engagement process,鈥� said spokesman Nathaniel Styer. 

The department, Styer added, is reviewing the ruling for 鈥渘ext steps鈥� and will continue to support district councils in complying with the law. 

Gujarati鈥檚 ruling did not call for the reinstatement of Tajh Sutton, who is the only other parent to be removed from a district council post after a D-210 investigation, because it is a separate case. Gujarati鈥檚 ruling stated that there is no proper request before the Court to 鈥渋dentically extend鈥� Maron鈥檚 relief to Sutton and therefore 鈥渋s not addressed herein.鈥� 

Sutton, formerly president of Williamsburg鈥檚 District 14 council, was removed after their official X account posted a toolkit for a student walkout for a ceasefire in Gaza.  DOE officials said the materials were 鈥減erceived by many community members as anti-Israel and antisemitic.鈥� 

As also reported by the , Sutton moved her district鈥檚 meetings online to limit threats 鈥� which included being mailed an envelope of human feces and death threats 鈥�  which the department later said violated open meeting laws. CEC 14鈥檚 official X account also blocked Maron. Both actions were categorized in Gujarati鈥檚 ruling as limiting free speech. 

Ultimately, 鈥渢he judge upheld the right to free speech even if that speech is offensive,鈥� said David Bloomfield, former DOE counsel and professor of education law with Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center. 

He added the ruling doesn鈥檛 justify the 鈥渙dious鈥� statements made, rather their right to be said in the first place, and that the system likely knew this was a possibility but would 鈥渞ather be slapped down by a court than allow [Maron鈥檚] behavior to persist.鈥� 

鈥淭he First Amendment guarantees a marketplace of ideas,鈥� Bloomfield said. 鈥淲hen the government intrudes on that, it鈥檚 hard to defend.鈥� 

In the first move of its kind, the nation鈥檚 largest school district removed two prominent elected parent leaders from community education councils after controversial rhetoric against transgender students and student advocacy for Palestine.

Elected to serve two-year terms on the city鈥檚 closest equivalent to school boards, parents Maud Maron and Tajh Sutton were removed Friday from lower Manhattan鈥檚 District 2 council and northern Brooklyn鈥檚 District 14, respectively. 

Maron appeared in court June 18, seeking an injunction and reinstatement, alleging the Chancellor鈥檚 decision was a violation of free speech. The Education Council Consortium, a parent advocacy organization, has demanded Sutton鈥檚 reinstatement and criticized the Chancellor for equivalating Maron and Sutton.聽

鈥淚t is a sad day when New York City Public Schools is compelled to take the actions I have ordered today, but the violations committed by these two individuals have made them unfit to serve in these roles,鈥� Schools Chancellor David Banks said in the Friday press release announcing the removals. 

In closing their statement denouncing Sutton鈥檚 removal, the Education Council Consortium said, 鈥渋t is indeed a 鈥榮ad day鈥� when New York City Public Schools uncovers a new way to further erode any confidence in this administration.鈥�

A December investigation by 社区黑料 previously revealed Maron said in a private chat that, 鈥渢here is no such thing as trans kids.鈥� Banks categorized her remarks as 鈥渄espicable鈥� and promised to take action. By March, a petition to remove her from Stuyvesant High School鈥檚 school leadership team for 鈥渂igotry鈥� amassed more than 700 signatures. In April, the DOE ordered her to cease 鈥�derogatory鈥� conduct. 

For months, parents and city leaders condemned Maron for leading a push to re-examine the city鈥檚 guidelines for trans students鈥� participation in sports, and for calling an anonymous student author a 鈥渃oward,鈥� accusing them of 鈥淛ew hatred,鈥� for an op-ed accusing Israel of genocide. 

Across the East River, Sutton was subject to investigation for supporting a student walkout for a ceasefire in Gaza, including posting a digital toolkit and protest chants. In the letter listing his reasons for removing her, Banks said the materials shared by Sutton were 鈥減erceived by many community members as anti-Israel and antisemitic.鈥�  

The reported Sutton, then the president and only Black member of District 14 council, had support from many families in her district who believe she was 鈥渦nfairly targeted鈥� for her advocacy for Palestine and that the DOE did little to safeguard her council against death threats. Sutton said she was also mailed an envelope of human feces. 

In a recent op-ed in the , Maron defended her actions and revealed Banks鈥檚 鈥渙fficial鈥� reasoning for her removal pointed to the comments made against the anonymous student author. 鈥淏ut the real reason the Chancellor wants to remove me is because the Democratic establishment in New York City is furious because I know the difference between male and female and am willing to say so in polite company.鈥� she wrote. 

In the letter issuing Sutton鈥檚 removal, Banks alleged Sutton violated open meetings laws for moving council meetings online, a decision she maintains was made over safety concerns after violent threats and multiple police reports, for which the DOE offered to provide additional NYPD officers at in-person meetings. 

Sutton told 社区黑料 she was never questioned by the DOE鈥檚 equity council for the alleged OML violations, only regarding her advocacy. state that videoconferencing or hybrid meetings may be permitted under 鈥渆xtraordinary circumstances,鈥� and do not state that violations may result in removal. 

鈥淚f we were so out of compliance, why did you wait until June to remove me?鈥� Sutton said. 鈥淏ecause you were waiting for Maron鈥檚 situation to get so hot that you could remove us together, so you could pretend that what I did is equal to what she did.鈥�  

David Bloomfield, an education law professor with Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, believes it was no accident Maron and Sutton were removed simultaneously, and questioned the precedent set for free speech. 

鈥淗e seems to be treating them as similar situations and trying to balance the scales by removing a left wing member and a right wing member,鈥� said Bloomfield.

While he did not question Banks鈥檚 legal right to remove Maron and Sutton, Bloomfield charged the precedent set is, 鈥減recisely what the First Amendment is supposed to protect against, which is the chilling of speech and particularly of political speech.鈥� 

Maron is one of three plaintiffs Sutton, Banks and District 14鈥檚 council for violating the First Amendment and suppressing parent voices. She has recently launched a consultancy group called ThirdRail, which promises to 鈥渉elp neutralize counterproductive DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] initiatives鈥� and build 鈥渇lourishing workplaces where ideas 鈥� not ideologies 鈥� inspire strategy.鈥� 

Amid reports of heightened antisemitism and Islamophobia in schools and colleges since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, a senior Education Department official said the agency has received a 鈥渉uge, huge influx鈥� of civil rights complaints that have led to a surge in federal investigations. 

Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel and the subsequent bombing and invasion of Gaza by the Israeli military, the into schools鈥� and colleges鈥� responses to complaints of discrimination based on shared ancestry, which includes antisemitism and Islamophobia. 

Of the new investigations, the senior official told 社区黑料, 19 are in response to conduct that unfolded in schools in the last two months alone. Of the incidents since Oct. 7 that are now under investigation, 17 took place on college campuses. 

Last fiscal year, by contrast, the office opened 28 shared ancestry investigations over the entire 12-month period. The year before, there were just 15. Such inquiries seek to determine whether schools adequately respond to incidents that create hostile learning environments in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity or national origin. 

鈥淲e are deeply concerned about the incidents that we’ve seen reported in schools all over the country, and about the safety of students, and the protection of non-discrimination rights for students in P-12 schools as well as in institutions of higher education,鈥� Catherine Lhamon, the department鈥檚 assistant secretary for civil rights, said in an interview Wednesday with 社区黑料. 鈥淲e’re very, very concerned about what we’re seeing in schools.鈥�

Though officials declined to comment on the specifics of active federal investigations, a spike in reported antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in and outside of schools have convulsed the nation and elevated student safety concerns. 

Near Louisiana鈥檚 Tulane University, a clash between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel and police are investigating a as a potential hate crime targeting an Arab Muslim student. At Rutgers University, officials chapter following claims the group disrupted classes and vandalized campus. At Harvard University, a rabbi to hide the campus menorah each night of Hanukkah due to vandalism fears. In California, a with involuntary manslaughter and battery after an alleged physical altercation broke out at a demonstration that led to the death of a Jewish protester. 

Outside of schools, police said a 6-year-old Chicago boy was in an alleged anti-Muslim attack, and in Burlington, Vermont, three college while walking down a sidewalk over Thanksgiving weekend. 

The escalating confrontations have embroiled school leaders, who have been criticized for failing to clamp down on hate speech and discrimination. Just days after in Washington about rising antisemitism on college campuses, Elizabeth Magill resigned as University of Pennsylvania president. She and the presidents of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were accused of being equivocating and evasive after giving carefully worded replies to repeated questions about whether calling for the “genocide of Jews” violated their schools’ code of conduct. Magill responded that it鈥檚 鈥渁 context-dependent decision,鈥� underscoring school leaders鈥� obligations to ensure safe learning environments while protecting people鈥檚 free speech rights. 

Harvard University President Tuesday after facing similar scrutiny for her testimony at the congressional hearing and unrelated plagiarism allegations.

Of the 29 active federal Title VI investigations opened since Oct. 7, just eight are focused on incidents in K-12 schools 鈥� including at three of the nation鈥檚 10 largest districts. Among them are the New York City Department of Education, the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Hillsborough County Schools in Tampa, Florida, and the Cobb County School District in suburban Atlanta.

Though the circumstances prompting the investigations remain unknown, many of the institutions included on the Education Department鈥檚 list of active investigations have experienced high-profile incidents involving discrimination. 

In New York City, a raucous, and prompted a lockdown after a teacher posted a picture of herself at a pro-Israel rally on social media. Also turning to social media, one student said the teacher 鈥渋s going to be executed in the town square,鈥� and another promoted 鈥渁 riot鈥� against her. 

In suburban Atlanta, the Cobb County School District sparked controversy following the Hamas attack to the school community that warned of an 鈥渋nternational threat,鈥� noting that 鈥渨hile there is no reason to believe this threat has anything to do with our schools, parents can expect both law enforcement and school staff to take every step to keep your children safe.鈥� Because of the message, several Muslim parents said their children had become the targets of Islamophobic bullying. 

In , the civil rights office highlighted hypothetical instances that put school districts at odds with their Title VI obligations. Among them: A Jewish student is targeted by his peers with swastikas and Nazi salutes but his teacher tells him to 鈥渏ust ignore it鈥� without taking steps to address the harassment. Another example involves school officials failing to remedy a Muslim student鈥檚 complaints that she was called a 鈥渢errorist鈥� and told 鈥測ou started 9/11.鈥�

Even before the most recent conflict between Hamas and Israel, law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have reported an uptick in hate crimes over the last several years, including on campuses. 

Reported hate crimes surged 7% between 2021 and 2022, released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in October, including a 36% increase in anti-Jewish incidents 鈥� which accounted for more than half of incidents based on religion. Among all reported hate crimes, 10% occurred at K-12 schools and colleges.

The Education Department last month released its most recent Civil Rights Data Collection, the first since the pandemic. Students reported 42,500 harassment allegations during the 2020-21 school year, including bullying on the basis of sex, race, sexual orientation, disability and religion. Of those, 29% involved harassment or bullying on the basis of race while only a sliver 鈥� 3% 鈥� involved students saying they were targeted because of their religion. 

The current climate has put Jewish college students on edge, according to , a nonprofit focused on eradicating antisemitism. Since the beginning of the academic year, 73% of Jewish college students said they鈥檝e been witness to antisemitism. Prior to this school year, 70% reported experiencing antisemitism throughout their entire college experience. Yet just 30% of Jewish college students said their college administration has taken sufficient steps to address anti-Jewish prejudice. 

During a televised interview on MSNBC Friday, Jonathan Greenblatt, the national director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said he thought conditions would improve on college campuses for Jewish students because the Title VI investigations now being launched by the Education Department would force college administrators to take action. 

Muslim Americans of all ages have similarly . In a two-week period between Oct. 7 and Oct. 24, reports of bias incidents and requests for help at the Council on American-Islamic Relations surged 182% from the average 16-day period in 2022. 

As lawmakers call on school leaders to take a stronger stance against hate speech, they鈥檝e faced pushback from free speech advocates. Earlier this month, New York of 鈥渁ggressive enforcement action鈥� if they failed to discipline students 鈥渃alling for the genocide of any group of people.鈥� In a statement, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a right-leaning nonprofit focused on students鈥� free speech rights, said Hochul鈥檚 admonition 鈥渃annot be squared with the First Amendment.鈥�  

鈥淐olleges and universities can and should punish 鈥榗alls for genocide鈥� when such speech falls into one of the narrowly defined categories of unprotected speech, including true threats, incitement and discriminatory harassment,鈥� the group said in the statement. 鈥淏ut broad, vague bans on 鈥榗alls for genocide,鈥� absent more, would result in the censorship of protected expression.鈥�

The senior Education Department official said that schools must 鈥渘avigate carefully鈥� their obligations under Title VI and the First Amendment. Even if a student鈥檚 speech is protected, the official said, school leaders still have an obligation to uphold all students鈥� nondiscrimination rights.

鈥淲hat concerns me is when a school community throws up its hands and says, 鈥楾his speech is protected and so there鈥檚 nothing more for us here,鈥欌�� said Lhamon, the assistant secretary for civil rights. 鈥淭hat may be true, but that鈥檚 only true where a hostile environment isn鈥檛 created that the school needs to respond to.鈥�