On September 27, three weeks after the launch of a campaign raising awareness of the dramatic consequences planned changes to education law could have for Polish schools, the organizers of the Wolna Szkoła civic initiative published the campaign’s second video: Lesson No. 2: LGBT ideology derives from neo-Marxism.

In the video, a laughing teenage couple walks down the street holding hands. They pass a mother with her teenage daughter. The girl stops, turns around and, in a raised voice, throws at them the words Minister Przemysław Czarnek uttered in August 2020: “There is no doubt that this entire LGBT ideology, which grows out of neo-Marxism, and neo-Marxism out of Marxism, comes from the same root as German Hitlerite national socialism, which is responsible for all the evil of World War II, the destruction of Warsaw and the murder of the Insurgents.” The terrified mother unsuccessfully tries to stop her daughter’s tirade. The video ends with an appeal to parents:

Do not let your child’s education look like this.

The government’s draft education reforms are nearing completion and may appear in the Sejm at any moment. If they come into force, they will ruin Polish schools. The minister will decide what and how our children are to learn, while subordinate education superintendents will implement his recommendations, which are not ideologically neutral. The rights of parents, educators and local governments will be restricted. Fear and conformism will begin to rule in schools.

More than 100 social organizations are already participating in the campaign opposing harmful changes in schools, symbolized by a red set square, as well as local-government associations and trade unions, including: Stowarzyszenie Samorządy dla Polski, Ogólnopolskie Stowarzyszenie Kadry Kierowniczej Oświaty, Związek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego and Niezależny Związek Zawodowy Oświata Polska. The campaign is supported by Związek Miast Polskich and Unia Metropolii Polskich. New organizations and civic groups join every day (the updated list of campaign participants is available at www.wolnaszkola.org).

The campaign, launched the day before the start of the school year, has already reached 29 million people. #wolnaszkola on TikTok has more than 1.5 million views, while its Instagram profile gained 24,000 followers in 24 hours.

Since September, the campaign organizers have been meeting representatives of all parliamentary clubs, urging them to reject draft changes to education law that would harm Polish pupils. The clubs of KO, KP and Lewica, as well as the Polska 2050 group, have already announced their opposition. The organizers are awaiting meetings with the remaining parliamentary groups and clubs.

The initiators of the Wolna Szkoła campaign encourage everyone to join the protest against the changes in schools planned by the government. Their support can be expressed, among other ways, by: