Montgomery County Public Schools has formally aligned its K–3 social studies curriculum to standards developed by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s education arm — the same organization now facing an 11-count federal indictment for wire fraud and money laundering.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
At a Montgomery County Board of Education work session last week, Moms for Liberty chapter chairwoman Rosalind Hanson stood before the board and laid out a pointed conflict: the same organization now under federal indictment had its curriculum standards embedded in Montgomery County classrooms. Few on the board appeared to dispute the premise.
Board documents confirm that MCPS aligned its kindergarten through third-grade social studies frameworks to the Social Justice Standards — a framework published by Learning for Justice, the education arm of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Those documents, dating to a November 2023 curriculum update, show the alignment was explicitly adopted alongside revised Grade 2 and 3 frameworks based on new Maryland State Department of Education requirements.
On April 21, 2026, a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, returned an 11-count indictment against the SPLC, charging the organization with wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment alleges that between 2014 and 2023, the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donor funds to individuals associated with violent extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations, and the National Socialist Party of America — all while publicly fundraising on an anti-extremism mission.
“While the SPLC faces federal fraud charges for allegedly funding the very groups it claimed to fight, Montgomery County taxpayers are still funding a curriculum built on its standards. Maryland parents deserve to know that.”
— Del. Matt Morgan (R), Maryland House of Delegates
The SPLC has denied the allegations, with interim CEO Bryan Fair calling them false and pledging to “vigorously defend” the organization. Fair said the group’s informant program was designed to protect staff and gather intelligence on violent threats, and that much of the information was shared with the FBI. The federal case is ongoing; no convictions have been entered.
Standards by Another Name
The Social Justice Standards are marketed by Learning for Justice — rebranded from “Teaching Tolerance” in 2021 — as a framework for anti-bias education, organized around four domains: identity, diversity, justice, and action. MCPS curriculum documents describe the alignment as part of an effort to embed “anti-bias and anti-racist content” in elementary social studies instruction alongside local history and primary source analysis.
The SPLC’s connection to the standards is not obscure. The Learning for Justice website is hosted on the SPLC’s domain, and the Social Justice Standards page explicitly identifies the SPLC as the parent organization. When Hanson raised the connection at the May 7 board session, she was citing documented organizational structure — not inference.
What remains unverified is the $1 million cost figure cited by advocates at the meeting. MCPS board documents confirm the curriculum alignment and the framework revision process, but the specific dollar amount attributed to the curriculum adoption has not been confirmed through procurement records.
A Timing Problem for MCPS
The indictment has created an uncomfortable timeline for school districts that formally adopted Learning for Justice materials. MCPS is one of at least 169 school districts in 42 states where SPLC-affiliated Social Justice Standards have been embedded in curriculum, according to a report published this week by the Defending Education organization.
For a district already navigating ongoing parental rights controversies — including the Mahmoud v. Taylor opt-out litigation that reached the U.S. Supreme Court — the SPLC alignment adds another layer of institutional exposure at a politically volatile moment. MCPS enrollment has declined by more than 1,000 students between the 2023–24 and 2024–25 school years, with homeschooling in the county rising 28 percent over the prior comparable period, according to Maryland State Department of Education data.
Key Facts
- MCPS K–3 social studies frameworks formally aligned to SPLC/Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards per November 2023 board curriculum documents.
- The SPLC was indicted on April 21, 2026, on 11 federal counts, including wire fraud and money laundering.
- The indictment alleges $3M+ in donor funds were channeled to informants affiliated with the KKK, Aryan Nations, and other extremist groups between 2014–2023.
- SPLC denies all charges; case is ongoing.
- The $1M figure cited at the board meeting has not been independently confirmed.
- MCPS enrollment declined by 1,041 students from 2023–24 to 2024–25; Montgomery County homeschooling rose 28% in the prior year period.
Sources: MCPS BoardDocs — Curriculum Updates, Nov. 9, 2023; U.S. Department of Justice press release — SPLC indictment, April 21, 2026; NPR — “Southern Poverty Law Center indicted on federal fraud charges,” April 21, 2026; Washington Examiner — Rosalind Hanson op-ed on MCPS curriculum transparency, Nov. 14, 2025; Daily Signal — “How the SPLC’s Woke Ideology Infected 169 School Districts,” May 12, 2026; Learning for Justice — Social Justice Standards framework.
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