‘Success Sequence’ Urges Marriage, Then Parenthood. These States Want Schools to Teach It
April 3, 2026
Conservative legislators in at least eight states want to require schools to teach students that earning at least a high school diploma, securing a full-time job, and getting married before having children—in that order—will help them avoid poverty as adults.
“I think from an anti-poverty standpoint, this might be the single most important thing we could be teaching,” Indiana state Sen. Spencer Deery, a Republican, said at a Jan. 21 education committee hearing.
