Under Pressure: The Impact of Anti-CRT and Anti-DEI Laws and Rhetoric on Teacher Well-Being

This article examines how anti-CRT/DEI legislation and the accompanying rhetoric affected K-12 educators’ well-being in a Texas urban district. Through 55 teacher interviews, we explore how these attacks on public education undermined teachers’ professional autonomy, left teachers feeling disrespected and unsupported, and increased their stress. This diminished sense of well-being contributed to burnout and increased teachers’ propensity to consider quitting teaching or seek jobs elsewhere. Our study highlights how politics, just as much as direct policy, seeps into the classroom and influences teachers’ ability to not only effectively do their jobs, but to remain committed to the profession. By framing anti-CRT/DEI policies’ impacts on teachers through a well-being framework, this study contributes to the growing research base on how to best support and retain teachers, particularly in highly contentious environments.