A Kansas elementary school is under fire after a guidance counselor refused to allow students to choose figures such as Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump, or even Jesus Christ as their role model.
The drama erupted in October after Marshall Elementary School guidance counselor Kacey Countryman told sixth-grade students to identify their role model for an assignment called “Find Your Voice.”
What happened next was alarming.
“When a student named Charlie Kirk as a role model, Ms. Countryman became visibly uncomfortable,” according to the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), which is representing a parent and student who’ve sued the school over its viewpoint discrimination. “She refused to allow the name on the board, stating loudly that Kirk was ‘not a hero.'”
“When the student teacher had already begun writing his name, Ms. Countryman ordered it erased. Another student selected President Donald J. Trump as a role model. Ms. Countryman grew even angrier, stating that students could not write political or religious figures on the board at all,” the ACLJ noted in a recent blog post.
According to station KWCH, which has seen ACLJ’s lawsuit, Countryman even complained when a student chose Jesus.
I’m extremely disappointed to learn of the censoring of students’ political beliefs in a Kansas school. Students should not be subjected to this kind of political manipulation.
This is unconstitutional and does not represent Kansas’ core values.https://t.co/hYR4YocaTB
— Rep. Ron Estes (@RepRonEstes) January 14, 2026
Conversely, “No restriction was placed on potentially controversial secular figures,” according to the ACLJ. “Only religious and political figures were excluded from public acknowledgment on the board.”
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the ACLJ argued that “the selective prohibition created immediate confusion among students about whose voices were valued and whose were not.”
The suit further accused the school of “egregious conduct in engaging in viewpoint-based discrimination against students who identified conservative political figures as role models.”
The ACLJ also alleged that students who were upset about the assignment restrictions were told to “not report [their] concerns to their parents.” And the ACLJ called the school out for defending its discriminatory policies by claiming it was being “inclusive and neutral.”
Unreal. Sixth grade students at a Kansas public school were told they could not name Charlie Kirk as a role model for an assignment.
The assignment was called “Find Your Voice,” in which the students were asked to identify their role models.
“When a student identified Charlie… pic.twitter.com/S3yS39qBlW
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) January 16, 2026
In its blog post, the ACLJ expounded further on how there was nothing “inclusive” about the school’s restrictions.
“This is an unconstitutional heckler’s veto – silencing speech because others might disagree with it,” the organization noted. “Teaching students to engage respectfully with opposing viewpoints is a core function of public education, not a threat to classroom safety.”
In statements to local station KSNW, both Marshall Principal Stacy Coulter and the Eureka School District didn’t seem very concerned about the allegations against them.
“As you may have heard, a student learning activity back in October led to some unintended confusion among our families,” Coulter said. “Our team is always working together on ways we can help ensure learning activities are positive and encouraging experiences for every student.”
“We are aware of this incident and are always working with families and our school staff to make sure every learning activity is a positive and encouraging experience for every student,” the school district said.
Critics say this whole fiasco is yet another example of how America’s educational system has become flooded with left-wing activists.
The Department of Education has granted more than $200 million to 21 “comprehensive centers” that push left-wing ideologies in local districts. They believe America’s schools are systems of “institutionalized privilege” and that there are too many “White students” in STEM. pic.twitter.com/tXHkmdPVK6
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) February 18, 2025
In 2021, the head of the Los Angeles teachers’ union basically suggested that children not learning all their math and science because of COVID restrictions was just fine, so long as they were trained to be activists.
“There is no such thing as learning loss,” Cecily Myart-Cruz told Los Angeles magazine at the time. “Our kids didn’t lose anything. It’s OK that our babies may not have learned all their times tables.”
“They learned resilience. They learned survival. They learned critical-thinking skills. They know the difference between a riot and a protest. They know the words insurrection and coup,” she added.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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