Thankfully, for the students, they won’t have to pick up the tab. 

The group’s efforts are being bolstered by its parent organization, the Young America’s Foundation, which has agreed to pay whatever it takes to uncover misdeeds within the college. They’re also being encouraged by an outspoken second-term state legislator, who promises to present the students’ findings to the Michigan House when it comes time to delineate state funding for MSU.

Although public records can be requested by anyone with the exception of incarcerated individuals, the students stress the importance of their request, emphasizing that it’s in Michigan taxpayer’s best interest to see these documents. The student organization is requesting course materials relating to the “development, creation, implementation, and execution” of those classes, according to the public records request which YAF shared with The State News.

According to YAF president and treasurer of the university’s College Republicans chapter, Aidan Haas, this examination into the College of Education isn’t about trying to tear the department down, but rather “figure out what's wrong with the institution, change it to make the institution better, make it more effective and constantly put out better educators.”

The students hope that these documents can prove that College of Education administrators are pushing ideologies that limit academic freedom and force students to think a certain way.

Once YAF receives them, it plans to turn them over to Michigan House Republicans, who group members say are aware of the inquiry and plan on considering those findings during budget negotiations.

A prominent legislative figure entangled in this plan is state Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, an MSU alum who has voiced support for the probe.

The group’s request follows previous scrutiny on MSU’s renowned education college by state Republicans. Last October, they and national Republican officials, lambasted the university after a syllabus for an introductory class circulated online — arguing that the class was teaching content that is divisive and discriminatory towards white students.

Schriver was one of those critical Republicans, writing in a social media post that “formal action” was “being pursued immediately to right this deep wrong.”

MSU argued at the time that the excerpt of the syllabus which circulated online misrepresented the course and was taken out of context by critics. Multiple teaching education students also pushed back on Republican’s characterization of the course.

Searching for ‘perverse’ ideologies

Interest in probing the College of Education began percolating shortly after the October syllabus incident, said Haas.

The syllabus, which was for a section of an introductory teaching course, TE 101, stated that, among the principles of the teacher education curriculum the class adheres to, "we are also committed to the Guiding Principles of the Black Lives Matter Movement ... "

At the time, the Young America's Foundation condemned the “race-obsessed” course in a press release. In that statement, the organization scrutinized required course materials listed on the syllabus, which they argued push radical left rhetoric that discriminates against white students.

Haas said that he takes no issue with professors or students holding liberal beliefs in their individual capacity, but is concerned when a course syllabus asserts those beliefs onto its students. Of further concern to Haas is whether courses are being developed with the intent to assert certain ways of thinking.

“It’s being developed more intentionally to kind of push this rhetoric and these ideas, what we see as limiting academic freedom, or limiting freedom of thought,” he said.

After the TE 101 incident, students began informing YAF about similar ideological impositions in other teaching courses with “concerning content within them to varying degrees,” Haas said. 

The group began working on a public record request which focused on 11 undergraduate and graduate courses, including the introductory class.

The request asks for documents “created or modified” in a five year period — from April 1, 2021, to Jan. 15, 2026 — relating to the “development, creation, implementation, and execution” of those 11 courses. The request goes on to specify that documents may include “course rationale and philosophy, syllabi and major assignments.”

While the request was first drafted by students, Haas said, it was reviewed by lawyers at the Young America’s Foundation, who played “a very big part in the process.”

After they were given the green light from the foundation, Haas filed the request in late January.

Haas said “in general” the group is looking for evidence proving that these courses force students to think a certain way politically.

“Teaching them to teach certain students of certain ethnicities that you can never succeed — we're looking for that,” he said. “We're looking for very racist ideologies, frankly, and perverse gender ideologies.”

MSU College of Education Senior Director of Communications Lauren Knapp referred a request to comment to university communications.

MSU Spokesperson Emily Guerrant declined to comment on the filings, saying that university communications does not speculate on the rationale for a group submitting a public records request.

“I do want to emphasize that Michigan State University remains firmly committed to academic freedom, scholarly inquiry and the preparation of educators who are well equipped to serve all students,” Guerrant said.

Even though public records requests can be submitted by anyone with the exception of incarcerated individuals, Haas said he believes this work is important because “no one else is really going to look into this stuff.”

Allies in the House

Haas said he plans to send the responsive documents to Michigan House Republicans and the State Education and Workforce Committee. Haas added that legislators have been notified of YAF’s plans by the students and by Schriver.

Schriver, who holds two degrees from MSU, is most known for introducing a controversial resolution in the Michigan House last Spring that urged the Supreme Court to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

His relationship with Young Americans for Freedom blossomed out of his connection to another conservative group on campus, Turning Point USA. The president of MSU’s Turning Point chapter, philosophy senior Ty Bommarito, works as a legislative aide for Schriver. Haas also described Bommarito as a friend and “integral” to conservative clubs on campus.

Bommarito said in an interview that although Schriver has not had any hands-on involvement crafting the requests, Schriver has kept in contact with YAF and encouraged the organization to “go forward in investigating this.” Bommarito added that he keeps Schriver updated about developments in the group’s inquiry.

“He’s been supporting us as we go through the process,” Bommarito said about Schriver.

The representative's involvement, Haas said, has “been mostly through him letting us know he would support us if anything ever came across his desk.”

Schriver told The State News in an interview in January that he was monitoring the situation surrounding these education courses and “collaborating with students to gather further evidence.”

He said that he is “working with house colleagues to ensure that anti-white curriculum will be considered during budget negotiations.”

Schriver didn’t specify exactly which colleagues he was working with, only saying that he is “tight with everybody.”

“It is in the best interest of Michigan State University to cease this practice immediately,” he said.

The university’s FOIA Office is charging YAF $760.24 to proceed with the request, a fee Haas says will be paid for by the Young America’s Foundation. The charges associated with the request are meant to cover the cost of redacting the documents responsive to the request, according to the fee estimate form YAF shared with The State News.

“It’s super expensive for the fact that this is information coming from a publicly funded institution,” Haas said. “We do feel it is in the taxpayer’s interest that we're getting this information. We're not just trying to waste people's time. We are legitimately trying to conduct a well run investigation into what's being taught in our College of Education.”

Haas said YAF is coordinating with the foundation to submit the requested down payment of $380 within the coming weeks. After that payment is made, MSU anticipates it will take 10 weeks to produce those documents.