Parents faced dozens of challenges in 2025, from school policies hiding details about their own kids from them to technology taking over the classroom. Here are some of the biggest parental rights fights of the year, and a look at what parents can expect next in 2026.
American Parents Coalition (APC) is releasing a new guide for parents as they prepare to once more take on the bad policies still pervading schools as we head into 2026. In the organization’s latest Lookout, first shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation, the parental advocacy group outlines 2025’s biggest wins for parents — and what they should keep an eye on next year.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has signed several executive orders protecting children, including Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports and Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation. These orders have helped safeguard against radical school policies to some extent, though many administrators and state officials have continued to defy federal directives, instead finding new ways to continue their radical policies or just maintaining them openly.
Notably, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Maine after Democrat Gov. Janet Mills refused several requests to comply with the president’s ban on men competing in women’s sports. The DCNF has also exclusively reported on several universities and school districts facing federal complaints after secretly admitting they will not follow the directives.
In response to such offenses, APC launched an interactive map logging these incidents for parents to stay up-to-date as battles over implementation, and refusals to comply, continue in 2026.
Parents won a major victory at the Supreme Court in June. Mahmoud v. Taylor secured the right to opt children out of lessons with content that is inappropriate or conflicts with a family’s religious beliefs.
Despite the win, parents still face a powerful opponent: teachers unions. While these groups claim to have kids’ best interests at heart, in reality, they more often try to shield classroom activities from parents. Some of these unions have sued the Trump administration in order to keep left-wing ideology embedded in schools and prevent the dismantling of the education department. Others have confidently claimed that “all children” in the country “belong” to them.
APC in September called out several unions funneling their energy and resources towards publicly boycotting retail giant Target for scaling back its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs instead of focusing on educating children.
Along with the ongoing problem of activist teachers unions, parents can also expect continued efforts from the administration to dismantle the Department of Education (ED), as well as further challenges to the administration’s education agenda.
A growing concern of many parents has been the prominence of technology in the classroom, especially children’s use of artificial intelligence (AI). Parents who spoke to the DCNF in November reported its use as creating angrier, less intelligent and less social kids. With 72% of young people using AI, many are concerned kids may be using technology in place of normal human interaction, harming children’s socialization, exposing them to inappropriate content, and in extreme cases, coaching them to commit suicide.
APC is encouraging parents to continue exercising caution toward apps with “problematic algorithms” that promote “videos that glamorize self-harm, eating disorders and other inappropriate content.” Parents should also share their experiences as a way to warn others, connect with and rally their communities to push back together against indoctrination, and carefully review their children’s curriculum, APC advises. (EXCLUSIVE: Here’s How Parents Can Protect Their Rights As Kids Head Back To School)
The organization also boasted its campaign pushing the Trump administration to strengthen price transparency policies so parents can plan healthcare for their children without surprise hidden expenses and financial uncertainty.
While parents and children tallied a number of victories in the education space over the last 12 months, many of the struggles they’ve faced will persist or be renewed in 2026 as teachers unions, educators, and lawmakers remain intent on pursuing radical agendas despite the pleas and objections from American families. Continued efforts to protect women’s spaces, uphold parental rights, and kick disruptive tech out of classrooms will be at the top of the docket for parents and those who support them and their families in the new year
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