By opposing transparency, progressives, the ACLU among them, may have made a tactical mistake. Public schools are government institutions paid for by taxpayers; with few alternatives, most parents are compelled to send their children there. It’s hard to argue that curricula should be kept secret. Some states, like Ohio, already have laws that allow parents to request instruction materials, reading lists, and curricula. To argue that schools can’t teach kids certain material unless it’s kept secret is to concede that the material wouldn’t withstand public scrutiny.

Transparency can help defend worldly, liberal instruction. In high school, a teacher of mine was accused by parents of proselytizing for Islam. If you knew the teacher, the allegation was comical—she was an avowed Christian. A perusal of her instructional materials could have quelled the controversy; she was teaching about Islam, not telling her students to join the local mosque.

The ACLU of old would never have argued for government secrecy, especially when it comes to public schools. America still needs the commitment to government transparency that the ACLU once exemplified. One might even say that we need it more than ever.