NEW PRI Book Tells Stories of Students, Parents and Educators Fighting Back Against DEI

The Great Equity Epidemic chronicles courageous Americans challenging controversial Equity policies and K-12 and higher education

SACRAMENTO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / October 5, 2026 / Students, parents, teachers, school board members and college professors across the country are challenging controversial so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies (DEI) and winning. Their stories are at the heart of a new book released today by the nonpartisan, California-based, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute.

The Great Equity Epidemic: Students, Parents, and Educators Reveal how DEI is Destroying American Education, authored by Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI’s Center for Education, and Wenyuan Wu, tells first-hand stories of courageous people who stood up against “equity” policies they believe lowered academic standards, undermined merit, weakened school discipline, and brought political ideology into classrooms.

The book is now available for purchase at Amazon.com or your favorite online bookseller.

“Parents, students and teachers often feel powerless when confronting a massive education bureaucracy, but the people we profile in this book show that one person really can make a difference in challenging the education status quo,” said Izumi. “These are inspiring stories of ordinary Americans who had the courage to speak up, fight back, and demand that schools once again focus on academic excellence, individual merit, and equal opportunity.”

Through first-hand accounts, The Great Equity Epidemic takes readers inside some of the most contentious education debates in American history.

The book examines the growing push in America’s public schools and universities for:

• Grading-for-equity policies and declining academic rigor;
• Reduced recognition and opportunities for high-achieving students;
• DEI and ideological classroom instruction;
• Politicized school discipline and safety policies; and
• Compromised academic freedom for teachers and professors.

But at its core, The Great Equity Epidemic is about the people fighting these battles.

Readers will meet:

• A mother who successfully challenged her son being bullied by other students after he objected to DEI instruction;
• A father who is descended from a Black Civil War soldier, who challenged his district’s equity programs;
• A school board member who endured intense opposition before building a coalition to end her district’s equity policies; and
• A college professor who fought his own college in court after speaking out against its equity policies.

“These stories should give hope to parents and teachers across the country who believe their schools have lost their way,” Izumi said. “You don’t have to simply accept lower standards, ideological indoctrination, or policies that treat students differently based on race. The people in this book show that one person willing to stand up can ultimately change a classroom or a college campus.”

The authors contrast the emphasis of equity policies on equal outcomes with the traditional principle of equal opportunity, and argue for restoring academic rigor, merit, accountability, and individual achievement in American education.

The Pacific Research Institute (www.pacificresearch.org) champions freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility by advancing free-market policy solutions.

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Katelyn Moon
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SOURCE: Pacific Research Institute

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

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