Wisconsin student says teacher forced her to share political views during class activity

MADISON, WISCONSIN: A student at Middleton High School said she was pressured to publicly reveal her political party during a class assignment, according to Fox News.

Despite telling her teacher she feared harassment from classmates, the teacher insisted she participate. The incident has raised concerns about student safety and how schools handle politically sensitive classroom activities.

Scarlett Johnson highlights concerns over class assignment

According to Moms for Liberty Wisconsin chairperson, Scarlett Johnson, the incident occurred at Middleton High School during a US government class.

Students were asked to write their names on red, blue, or gray squares to indicate whether they were Republican, Democrat or Independent. These squares were then to be displayed publicly in the school hallway.

One student reportedly declined to participate after hearing older students refer to red squares and say, “All those people are Nazis,” Johnson claimed in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

History teacher Andrew Hartman dismisses student’s fears

The student later shared her concerns with her history teacher, Andrew Hartman. She said she was visibly shaking while explaining what she had overheard, but her teacher dismissed her fears and ordered her to participate in the next class.

In a follow-up post, Johnson cited details from the student’s written account. The student said she was required to list three political issues, such as immigration or abortion, explain her choices in front of classmates, and post her paper on the hallway bulletin board alongside her declared affiliation.

The publication reached out to Hartman for comment, but he did not respond.

Parents allege similar assignments across Dane County

Moms for Liberty said parents from several Dane County school districts reported their children were given the same assignment.

One parent said the activity sparked arguments and divided students.

Social media reacts to classroom controversy

News of the assignment triggered strong reactions online. One user wrote, “That school needs to be defunded & permanently shuttered."

Another posted, “We need Mandatory Capitalism 101 courses in all grade schools teaching the dangers of the alternatives."

Another user wrote, "Parents really need to sue. The people designing these 'classroom lessons' have no checks and balances."

Someone added, "No legal anything can change who they are now… they’re good at pretending when they have to, but result is still the same."

One more user adds, "I bet this was a PD training and it’s been going on for a while now."

School district addresses assignment concerns

The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District confirmed the assignment was part of the curriculum and has been taught for more than a decade.

“As part of the semester-long government simulation process, students declared a party affiliation (Democrat, Republican, Independent) in order to form leadership structures and caucuses,” the district said in a statement.

They added that teachers follow a prescribed curriculum that emphasizes civil discourse and collaboration.

The district stated that students who preferred not to participate were allowed to skip the activity, and denied that teachers intimidated anyone. However, it admitted that publicly declaring party affiliations made some students uncomfortable.

“Through our conversations with students and their families, we learned that publicly declaring a party affiliation made some students uncomfortable. Because of safety concerns and student input, we have removed the political spectrum display,” the district said.

"Going forward, students will continue to declare a party affiliation privately,” they added.

The district said it is investigating reports of students harassing one another due to the assignment.

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