Writing practitioners, researchers, and scholars are at a juncture where foundational assumptions about the teaching of writing, its place in higher education, and its ability to help foster a truly inclusive democratic society are increasingly contested. Trust in literacy has been eroded over the past decades, coming to an acute crisis in the most recent years where basic facts are in dispute, meaning has been decontextualized, and information weaponized for political gain. Moreover, technology now threatens real human to human communication in the form of A.I. algorithms trained on Large Language Models like ChatGPT. This statement is meant to help support and guide the careful work of professionals in their many different contexts and against many different assaults on higher learning. This statement details guiding principles and enabling conditions that can help writing teachers, writing program administrators, department heads, library staff, deans, university administrators, and policy makers make decisions that support sound writing instruction. [This statement was established in October 1989, revised November 2013, revised March 2015, and revised November 2023.]