From 'Red Sprouts' to school board races, DSA's years-long effort to reach children gains momentum

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is taking its message into classrooms, child-care programs and school boards, urging organizers to approach child care "from a socialist perspective" through initiatives such as Socialist Sprouts, and its been an initiative for years, a parental-rights watchdog warns.

In New York City, the DSA's "Red Sprouts" program held a training session in October 2026 to equip organizers to provide "resistance-driven childcare" at demonstrations, meetings and community events.

The training encouraged participants to incorporate political themes into childcare through "radical storytelling", "cooperative games" and age-appropriate discussions.

"There's been a real influx in enthusiasm and their ability and desire to recruit and grow their movement," American Parents Coalition leader Alleigh Marré told Fox News Digital. "What's particularly concerning and insidious, is their direct efforts to apply that to not just adults, but to youth."

Marré said the American Parents Coalition is working to equip parents with resources to identify and question political activism in schools, including through its "Lookout" initiative.

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The New York City DSA chapter also established Comrades With Kids, a family-focused organizing group that seeks to be a "political and social home base for working-class families." The group posted photos of DSA-themed coloring pages for children provided at a Zohran for Parents event in September 2025.

The New York initiatives are part of a larger effort by the DSA to incorporate childcare and political education into its organizing activities.

For years, the DSA's National Political Education Committee has offered training on approaching childcare for activists "from a socialist perspective", including activities for children at organizing events. In 2025, the committee outlined plans to develop a "Socialist Sprouts" curriculum geared for children, parents and caregivers involved in the movement.

The organization's efforts to introduce socialist ideas to children date back at least a decade.

In 2016, New York City DSA members launched a Socialist Sunday School for children ages 2 to 6. The program used political songs such as "Union Maid" and "Solidarity Forever," alongside children's books, including "The Lorax," to introduce discussions about corporate greed, environmentalism and organizing against unfairness.

In Ohio, the Cleveland DSA chapter created a children's coloring book to "help kids learn what we work on at DSA." Its illustrations include a version of "The Three Little Pigs" tied to the chapter's housing agenda.

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The DSA's online store has also sold children's clothing promoting a "Green New Deal for Public Schools."

The DSA describes much of its childcare programming as a way to make political organizing more accessible to working-class families. Marré, however, argued that introducing socialist ideas to young children raises concerns about political indoctrination.

"The DSA really understands and values that if you can indoctrinate and teach these kids really young, their perceived value of, of socialism, that that's going to stick with kids for a lifetime," Marre said. "It's much easier to teach a child an idea or ideal in their infancy, and when they're very young and they're forming their worldview, and we have seen many efforts to try and capitalize on that."

"There's this really concerted effort to instill an ideology in really, really young children, rather than teaching kids how to think and introducing a breadth of ideologies of religious interests, etc.," Marré said. "It's really focused on socialist and communist aligned ideas."

Beyond its childcare programs, the DSA has also pursued a strategy to expand its influence over public education through local school board elections.

At its 2023 national convention, the DSA adopted an amendment prioritizing the recruitment and support of socialist school board candidates. Rose DuBois, one of the amendment's authors, argued that school board elections could help the organization reach "new kinds of voters, such as parents," while building the infrastructure needed to win higher-profile races.

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The Los Angeles chapter of the DSA established its own Public Education Committee, with priorities that include expanding the organization's influence on school boards, recruiting school board candidates, working with teachers unions and promoting policies such as the Green New Deal.

Those longstanding efforts come as the DSA gains political ground following the 2026 midterm elections, with DSA-backed candidates winning congressional, state legislative and local school board races.

DSA-backed positions prevailed on 23 ballot measures, including a measure in Washington where voters rejected a proposal to restore expanded parental rights in public schools.

The election results highlight the growing political reach of an organization whose members advocate shifting economic power away from private corporations and expanding government-funded programs, including universal healthcare and childcare.

The 2025 victory of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a card-carrying member of the DSA, heightened awareness of the movement's growing influence, particularly among young people. Following the 2026 midterms, three card-carrying DSA members — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Reps.-elect Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, both New York Democrats — are set to represent parts of New York City in Congress.

Marré said the American Parents Coalition is working to equip parents with resources to identify and question political activism in schools, including through its "Lookout" initiative.

She warned that the impact could become more visible as newly elected DSA-backed officials take office.

"We're gonna see a lot more of the firsthand resources and the effects of this brand new class of DSA members being folded into their communities," Marré said.