This article is fine as far as it goes, but the pressure on high school students is where it starts. (In liberal areas like the SF Bay area a conservative view in class is put down in the strongest terms by the teacher and the other classmates.)
You are quite right to remind us of Elian, but the daily damage done to our high school students who do not have the advantage of home schooling is savage and on going.
That certainly is true. Things have changed in that sense, and for the worse. When I started high school (1966) I remember our world geography (I don't know what the subject would be called today, maybe something like sensitivity training for landmass diversity) teacher allowed the class to have an open debate on the Vietnam War, all viewpoints allowed w/o suppression. I can only guess what might happen today if the Iraq situation were debated. Pro-US positions marginalized and rejected, one would think.
The one thing I wanted to do in high school was "fit it" with a popular group. Going against "official" doctrine was one way you wouldn't. I can imagine that is a decisive factor in today's classroom. Go against the teacher's position, and risk not only your grade but your standing before your peers. A powerful weapon to force a kid to toe the line...