Public Education and Church State Separation: A Conversation with Randi Weingarten

Join Jews for a Secular Democracy for a powerful and timely evening as we present our Constitutional Defender Award to Randi Weingarten—President of American Federation of Teachers (AFT), national education leader, and a steadfast advocate for public education and democratic values—and hear from her about her experiences defending church-state separation in schools. Register here!

The Jews for a Secular Democracy (JFASD) Constitutional Defender Award is presented to outstanding individuals who embody the JFASD mission by bringing Jewish values to defend the U.S. Constitutional right to freedom of and from religion. Past honorees have included leaders at the forefront of defending religious freedom, civil rights, and inclusive democracy. 

At a time when efforts to inject religion into public schools are accelerating—from curriculum censorship and book bans to policies that privilege one set of religious beliefs over all others—public education sits at the frontlines of the fight for church-state separation. JFASD is honored to recognize Randi Weingarten for her leadership in defending public education as a cornerstone of both democracy and religious freedom.

Grounded in the Jewish cultural, historic, and religious-minority experience, Jews for a Secular Democracy (www.JFASD.org) brings a unique and urgent perspective to our understanding that true religious freedom depends on a government that remains neutral on matters of faith. As our work has long emphasized, the diversity of religious and nonreligious identities in the United States is precisely why we are all better protected when no single religious belief is elevated through public policy.

Save your spot for this in-person event in Michigan! (address will be provided following registration). If you can’t make it in person, you can join the livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/@BT28611/streams

Randi Weingarten is president of the 1.8 million-member American Federation of Teachers (www.AFT.org), which represents teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees; and early childhood educators. The AFT is dedicated to the belief that every person in America deserves the freedom to thrive, fueled by opportunity, justice and a voice in our democracy. Prior to her election as AFT president in 2008, Weingarten served for 11 years as president of the United Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2, representing approximately 200,000 educators in the New York City public school system. Weingarten is the recipient of many commendations; she was included in Washingtonian’s 2021 Washington’s Most Influential People, City & State New York’s 2021 New York City Labor Power 100, and in 2017 received the Roosevelt Institute’s FDR Distinguished Public Service Award. In 2013, the New York Observer named Weingarten one of the most influential New Yorkers of the past 25 years. Weingarten holds degrees from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Cardozo School of Law.