{"id":891,"date":"2026-07-13T22:40:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T22:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertytransitionmedia.com\/?p=891"},"modified":"2026-07-13T22:40:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T22:40:46","slug":"audit-shows-outlawed-dei-practices-still-embedded-in-indiana-public-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertytransitionmedia.com\/?p=891","title":{"rendered":"Audit Shows Outlawed DEI Practices Still Embedded In Indiana Public Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Indiana Family Institute (IFI) performed a comprehensive that details lingering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) frameworks still in place across the Indiana Public School system.<\/p>\n

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\u201cUnfortunately, modern DEI practices undermine principles of true diversity, inclusion, and equality by emphasizing division, group identity, and unequal treatment in the name of equity and inclusion. Rather than fostering unity, DEI frameworks often encourage resentment, categorize individuals as oppressors or the oppressed, and shift focus away from merit, personal responsibility, and shared citizenship,\u201d wrote IFI Executive Director Ryan McCann in the audit\u2019s foreword.<\/p>\n

In January 2025, Gov. Mike Braun issued , \u201cwhich eliminated DEI initiatives across Indiana\u2019s state government. The order directed agencies to replace DEI initiatives with \u2018Merit, Excellence, and Innovation\u2019 (MEI),\u201d as noted in the audit.<\/p>\n

Indiana legislators also passed Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 289, which strictly \u201cprohibit[s] schools and public institutions from requiring training or lessons\u201d in DEI. Under state and federal legislation, all Indiana public school corporations and charter school networks must certify that they are not operating unlawful DEI programs or using federal funds for identity-based training, staffing, or programming.<\/p>\n

The legislation looked like a step in the right direction for many concerned families who had voiced their concerns about the DEI ideologies present in their children\u2019s curriculum. However, while working in the Indiana attorney general\u2019s office, Corrine Youngs heard reports from several parents that DEI was still hiding in plain sight at their local schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost parents did not realize this was going on until Covid. I don\u2019t think people realized what their kids were learning until they were listening to it during lockdown,\u201d Youngs told The Federalist. \u201cI think parents wanted to see if the executive orders would actually effectively strip DEI out of schools, and from this audit you can see that it has not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Youngs is an attorney and founder of Praxis Advocacy, which conducted the audit with Indiana Family Institute using materials from schools and parent testimonials gathered throughout the 2025-2026 school year. While working in the Indiana attorney general\u2019s office, Youngs served as policy director and helped develop the \u201cEyes on Education Portal,\u201d where parents, students, or teachers can submit feedback or concerns about policies, programs, or teaching activities at their schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my discussion with parents, I think that the public may be under the impression that since the\u00a0federal and state government issued these executive orders or passed DEI\u00a0legislation, that these policies automatically removed DEI from schools. That\u2019s not the case. A lot of that language is written very narrowly and maybe got rid of some aspects but not all,\u201d Youngs told The Federalist. <\/p>\n

The audit reviewed 12 different public school districts across Indiana and uncovered trends of embedded DEI frameworks within the schools.<\/p>\n

A look at the 2023-2027 for Anderson Community School Corporation (ACSC) found ACSC \u201cchanged administrative titles without any corresponding change in personnel responsibilities to avoid explicit DEI labeling,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n

ACSC changed its organizational chart, apparently after the governor initiated the executive order; however, \u201cthe only apparent modification was to the job title of administrative faculty,\u201d the audit reports.<\/p>\n

The strategic plan for Indianapolis Public Schools, which was released in April of 2025, continues to make promoting racial equity a priority. \u201cIPS governance documents also affirm Black Lives Matter, commit to reducing expulsions and arrests, and direct recruitment of Black teachers,\u201d the audit found. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re wondering where this is coming from?\u201d Youngs told The Federalist. \u201cAnd we realized it\u2019s coming from\u00a0IDOE Course Catalog.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audit examined the role of the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) in shaping district-level curriculum decisions, with particular attention to the High-Quality Curricular Materials (HQCM) advisory lists.<\/p>\n

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One such example was the \u201cwidely adopted\u201d \u201cWit & Wisdom,\u201d a K\u20138 English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum published by Great Minds and recommended by the IDOE.<\/p>\n

The audit found that content from the kindergarten modules of \u201cWit & Wisdom\u201d had young students \u201cengage with visual art and media commonly taught through race and class lenses.\u201d The media included paintings from Diego Rivera, \u201can avowed communist painter whose murals and canvases consistently portray class struggle and colonial oppression,\u201d according to the audit.<\/p>\n

In response to an inquiry from The Federalist, a representative from the Indiana Department of Education said that the IDOE \u201cis committed to equipping schools and parents with the data, resources, and guidance necessary to help our students achieve academic and lifelong success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn summer 2025, we completed a\u00a0\u00a0detailing the significant progress made across all education agencies to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations related to DEI,\u201d Courtney Bearsch, chief communications officer for the IDOE, told The Federalist.<\/p>\n

Bearsch says the IDOE has addressed \u201cmany of the assertions raised\u201d in the audit, such as the \u201cUnderstanding Diversity and Relationships and Emotions\u201d class, which she said was removed from the\u00a0\u00a0in December 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor more than a year, the department has also maintained an\u00a0established process\u00a0for parents and schools to elevate concerns regarding any materials included on the state\u2019s published High-Quality Curricular Materials lists,\u201d Bearsch told The Federalist. \u201cTo date, we have not received any submissions through this process. The department continues to review all state standards, programs, and requirements to ensure complete alignment with state and federal laws and regulations, and most importantly, to support our schools in focusing on the work that we know improves outcomes for Hoosiers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Youngs says that the audit she conducted is \u201cparent instigated,\u201d and goes far deeper than the DEI found in curriculum in schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had several parents contact Indiana Family Institute about bathroom issues in the state where their child has encountered the opposite gender in a private space and felt\u00a0uncomfortable about it,\u201d Youngs told The Federalist. \u201cSo it\u2019s still happening here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The audit includes parent-provided photographs of LGBT-propaganda signage still on display at Indiana schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome things have changed, some things have been cleaned up, but some things have not and are deeply embedded into the structure of the mission and vision of these schools,\u201d Youngs told The Federalist. \u201cIt\u2019s going to take many layers of review.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audit also proposes a list of recommendations on how to more effectively eliminate lingering DEI, including: \u201ccontract[ing] a third-party consultant to conduct independent school audits,\u201d \u201cincreas[ing] parental engagement in DEI oversight,\u201d \u201cpass[ing] comprehensive laws\u201d tailored to dismantle DEI at the district level, and \u201corder[ing] a third-party audit of the Indiana Department of Education.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that the intent from these policies was to get rid of DEI, but that didn\u2019t necessarily happen so we need to audit the schools and the curriculum, see what teachers are doing, and chip away at DEI because it\u2019s so embedded,\u201d Youngs told The Federalist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Revolutionary America Documentary Helps Americans Understand Our Great Inheritance<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The audit reviewed 12 different public school districts across Indiana and uncovered trends of embedded DEI frameworks within schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[657],"tags":[2829,142,2830,3,472,2831,2832,2833,2834,2835,2836,2837,660],"class_list":["post-891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-audit","tag-dei","tag-diversity","tag-donald-trump","tag-education","tag-equity","tag-executive-orders","tag-inclusion","tag-indiana-department-of-education","tag-indiana-family-institute","tag-mike-braun","tag-praxis-advocacy","tag-public-school"],"yoast_head":"\nAudit Shows Outlawed DEI Practices Still Embedded In Indiana Public Schools - Property Transition Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/propertytransitionmedia.com\/?p=891\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Audit Shows Outlawed DEI Practices Still Embedded In Indiana Public Schools - 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