Dear Friends of FAIR,
When we look back at 2025, we’ll remember it as the year FAIR turned from identifying problems to building real solutions that are changing classrooms, courtrooms, and cultural institutions across America.
Our Curriculum Is Opening Doors
Earlier this month, Dr. Dave Ferrero presented FAIR’s American Experience curriculum at the Oregon Civics Conference, where more than 50 educators actively engaged in sample activities. The feedback was inspiring. Teachers overwhelmingly intend to use FAIR’s comparative document analysis activity in their classrooms. The pre- and post-assessment tool for measuring students’ civil discourse skills emerged as the second most popular resource, with teachers eager to use it to evaluate classroom dialogue quality and student growth in civic engagement.
By providing concrete, classroom-ready resources, we’re already making an impact in Oregon.
And Oregon is just the beginning. We’re in active discussions with a private school in San Francisco to pilot FAIR’s curriculum in Fall 2026. In January, we’re meeting with a large Northern California school district about bringing the curriculum to their classrooms. And in March, we’re presenting at the California Council for the Social Studies Conference, where hundreds of educators gather to discover new teaching resources.
The demand is real, it’s growing, and we’re just getting started!
Our Legal Advocacy Is Winning
This year, FAIR filed several major Office for Civil Rights (OCR) complaints documenting clear violations of civil rights laws, and we intend to keep this momentum going in 2026.
At Colorado State University, two instructors proudly published an academic article detailing how they deliberately induced “shame” and “guilt” in white and male students through what they called a “pedagogy of discomfort.” When students wrote “I don’t feel safe in this classroom,” the instructors laughed. FAIR filed an OCR complaint demanding accountability for this documented discrimination. The Chronicle of Higher Education—which reaches hundreds of thousands of faculty and administrators nationwide—featured our complaint, bringing national attention to discriminatory teaching practices even in higher education’s most resistant corners.
At the University of the District of Columbia, administrators rejected a proposed debate titled “Is the American Dream Alive for Black Americans?” featuring black and Hispanic panelists—including me. Why? Because university officials determined our perspectives were incompatible with what people of their racial identities should believe. FAIR filed an OCR complaint challenging this blatant viewpoint and racial discrimination.
In Washington state, we filed an OCR complaint against Tumwater School District after 15-year-old Frances Staudt was forced to withdraw from her basketball game rather than compete against a biological male. When Staudt and her mother raised safety concerns, school officials ridiculed them and then opened a harassment investigation against Frances for allegedly “misgendering” the male player. Just 11 days after FAIR filed our complaint, the Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into the district’s Title IX violations.
And we’re not stopping there.
FAIR is appealing Professor Zack DePiero’s case against Penn State University to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. DePiero was subjected to a hostile work environment for questioning whether telling white instructors that their “body perpetuates racism” was appropriate pedagogy. The university launched investigations against him instead of addressing the discriminatory training.
From university DEI programs that deliberately traumatize students based on race, to institutions that exclude speakers based on their racial identity and viewpoints, to school boards that resurrect segregation under the guise of inclusion—we’re documenting it, challenging it, and winning.
FAIR Artists Are Building Alternatives
This spring, we announced 14 artist grants to creators spanning theatre, film, visual arts, comedy, and education. These aren’t just talented artists; they’re pioneers building a new cultural infrastructure where excellence, integrity, and free thought can flourish outside the ideological gatekeeping that dominates today’s arts funding ecosystem.
One winner told us: “Beyond the financial support, what truly set this grant apart was the sense of being seen and supported as an artist working outside the ideological mainstream of today’s art world.”
Another shared: “FAIR’s support didn’t just fund my work—it validated it.”
Several of these projects have already been performed or exhibited, and others have secured additional funding thanks to FAIR’s initial support.
Looking Ahead to 2026
As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, FAIR is positioned to expand this impact exponentially. But sustaining this momentum—bringing our curriculum to classrooms nationwide, taking on more civil rights cases, supporting more artists—requires time and resources.
Your year-end gift will ensure that we can meet this moment. Every dollar you invest translates directly into expanded capacity: more teachers trained, more students defended, more artists supported, more ground gained in building the constitutional consensus America needs.
Donate now to help us turn this momentum into transformation!
The Constitution doesn’t enforce itself. Culture doesn’t change on its own. Alternatives don’t build themselves. Together, we’re proving that courage backed by action can defeat institutional discrimination and create the educational and cultural landscape our students and our country deserve.
Thank you for being a member of FAIR and thank you for believing in our mission!
With gratitude,
Monica Harris
Executive Director
FAIR Educator Alliance 2025-2026
FAIR is launching the Educators Alliance for the 2025–2026 school year to equip PK–12 educators with the knowledge, strategies, and community support they need to foster schools that are more enriching and free from bias for students and educators.
Each monthly gathering will open with updates and presentations from FAIR staff, fellows, Chapter Leaders, and occasional guest speakers. Together, we’ll explore strategies for supporting educators, communities, and local chapters—and for advancing positive change at the local, regional, and national levels. Following presentations, participants will have space for open forum discussions to connect, seek advice, and coordinate on pressing issues in their schools. Breakout rooms will be divided into PK-6 and 7-12 grade levels with experienced teachers facilitating those conversations.
Meetings: First Thursday of each month at 7 PM ET via Zoom
Duration: 1 hour
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Excellent! Wishing you continued good momentum heading into 2026!