CAIR Systematically Trying to Influence K-12 Education Across US, Investigation Finds
A new Jewish Onliner investigation found that CAIR's efforts to influence young students extend far beyond Philadelphia, spanning New Jersey, Oklahoma, Florida, and Illinois
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) this week petitioned the Department of Education to investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for running what he termed "possibly illegal" anti-Israel educational initiatives in public schools, following investigative reports that exposed controversial lesson plans sanitizing the September 11th attacks and promoting antisemitic content.
But Cotton's concerns about CAIR Philadelphia's partnership with Pennsylvania and Delaware schools may represent just the tip of the iceberg. New evidence uncovered by Jewish Onliner reveals CAIR chapters in New Jersey, Oklahoma, Florida, and Illinois are all actively promoting similar 9/11 educational materials, suggesting a coordinated nationwide effort to influence how American students learn about terrorism and Islamic extremism.
The Investigation That Sparked Sen. Cotton’s Letter
Cotton's letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon was prompted by reporting from Jewish Onliner based on research by the K12 Extremism Tracker watchdog group, which first exposed CAIR Philadelphia's troubling educational offerings to K-12 schools across Pennsylvania and Delaware.
The investigation revealed that CAIR's educational materials include a comprehensive guide instructing teachers to avoid using "inaccurate and inflammatory terms such as 'Islamic terrorists,' 'jihadists,' or 'radical Islamic terrorists'" when discussing the September 11th attacks. The organization also offers workshops on "American Jews and Political Power" that promote anti-Israel sentiment and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
"Such an organization should never have access to our nation's children," Cotton wrote in his letter. "The U.S. Department of Education must ensure that CAIR is not given an opportunity to push its radical, pro-terrorist, anti-Israel ideology on American schoolchildren."
Nationwide Pattern Emerges
However, newly discovered evidence shows this is not an isolated incident limited to Philadelphia. A review of CAIR chapter websites reveals a coordinated nationwide distribution of similar 9/11 educational materials across multiple states.
CAIR-New Jersey is actively collaborating with a group called "Teaching While Muslim” to promote its own "9/11 in the Classroom: A Unit Plan for Educators," described as a resource “to help educators discuss 9/11 thoughtfully and inclusively." The CAIR-NJ materials, promoted on Instagram, claim to provide "free curriculum with resource and discussion guides for elementary, middle, and high school classrooms" designed "to avoid marginalizing Muslim students."
Furthermore, CAIR Oklahoma's website hosts what appears to be the same 9/11 teaching guide distributed by CAIR Philadelphia, but with a crucial difference: the document bears the address of CAIR's national headquarters in Washington D.C., not Oklahoma's local office, suggesting central coordination from the national organization.
CAIR Florida has developed its own version of the 9/11 lesson plan, while CAIR Chicago openly advertises its partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), boasting of direct collaboration with one of the nation's largest school districts.
In addition to the above, Jewish Onliner discovered that in CAIR Philadelphia's recently-uncovered September 11th teaching guide, the chapter explicitly credits CAIR's national and Los Angeles offices for “curating the majority of the resources presented.”
These discoveries suggests Cotton's concerns about CAIR's educational infiltration efforts extend across at least six states—Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Florida, and Illinois—indicating a coordinated national strategy by the organization to reshape how American schools teach about Islamic terrorism.
CAIR's Alleged Terror Connections
Cotton's letter notes CAIR's long history of alleged connections to terrorist organizations. The organization was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2009 federal terrorism financing case related to Hamas, and a 2013 FBI Inspector General report revealed evidence allegedly linking CAIR leaders to Hamas during the Holy Land Foundation trial.
The FBI subsequently developed policies to "significantly restrict the FBI's non-investigative interactions with CAIR" due to concerns about the organization's alleged terror ties. Senator Cotton noted in August 2025 that "recent news and longstanding evidence demonstrate CAIR's ties to terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and their activities."
Senator Cotton also highlighted that CAIR Philadelphia's Executive Director, Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, is on record stating that Israel was the reason for the October 7 Hamas-led massacre, while national CAIR executive director Nihad Awad said he "was happy to see" residents of Gaza "break the siege" on October 7.
The Need for a Federal Investigation
As CAIR chapters across Oklahoma, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware are all discovered promoting similar educational materials, the question becomes whether this represents a deliberate national strategy by an organization with alleged ties to terrorist groups to systematically indoctrinate American students with pro-terrorist, anti-Israel ideology.
The scope of CAIR's educational infiltration efforts—spanning from major urban districts like Chicago to smaller state chapters—suggests a well-funded, coordinated campaign that warrants immediate federal scrutiny. Cotton's call for investigation may just be the beginning of a broader examination of how organizations with apparent terror connections have gained systematic access to America's classrooms.
I'd speculate that they are making their materials into private schools of a non-islamic nature also.
Thank you for reporting and to senator cotton and the good folks taking on the scourge which if not uprooted eradicated and discarded will only multiply
At least one generation of youth all over the West is going to have to be deNazified. Probably more.