The U.S. Department of Education has introduced a new online platform called EndDEI.Ed.Gov, aimed at addressing concerns about discrimination in K-12 public schools. This portal allows parents, students, teachers, and community members to report instances of perceived discrimination based on race or sex in educational institutions receiving public funding.
The secure portal enables users to submit detailed information about concerning practices, including the school or district name and an email address for follow-up. The Department of Education plans to use these submissions to guide potential investigations into discriminatory practices.
“The U.S. Department of Education is committed to ensuring all students have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination. This submission form is an outlet for students, parents, teachers, and the broader community to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning. The Department of Education will utilize community submissions to identify potential areas for investigation.”
The launch of this portal signals a shift in the Department of Education’s approach under the current administration.
Other governments have encouraged citizens to inform on others, often as a means of maintaining control and suppressing dissent.
East German Stasi
The East German secret police, known as the Stasi, maintained an extensive network of informants. They would invade every aspect of East Germans’ personal lives, reporting on neighbors, family, and friends. This system accumulated millions of files containing intimate details about citizens’ lives.
Stalinist Soviet Union
Under Joseph Stalin’s rule in the Soviet Union, even children were encouraged to report on their parents. Families lived in constant fear of being reported for any perceived disloyalty to the regime. This atmosphere of suspicion and fear was a key component of Stalin’s Great Purge in the late 1930s.
Nazi Germany
The Nazi regime in Germany also relied heavily on informants to maintain control. Citizens were encouraged to report any activities or speech that could be considered anti-Nazi or subversive.
Authoritarian regimes often use various tactics to encourage informing:
- Ideological appeals: Regimes may frame informing as a patriotic duty or a way to protect the state from enemies.
- Rewards: Some regimes offer social or pecuniary benefits to informants.
- Coercion: In some cases, people may be forced or threatened into becoming informants.
- Fear and suspicion: By creating an atmosphere of constant surveillance, regimes make citizens fear that anyone could be an informant, further suppressing dissent.
