Advance Colorado’s Education “What to Teach” Report: Concerns and Insights

Advance Colorado is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that actively opposes progressive policies while training, connecting, and empowering conservative leaders across Colorado. Their website features an education section that outlines their commitment to “crafting cutting-edge policies that empower parents, taxpayers, and teachers, and challenge the status quo interests that resist reform.”

It is important to note that Kristi Burton Brown, a member of the Colorado State Board of Education, is the Executive Vice President for Advance Colorado. The Advance Colorado website notes that Ms. Burton Brown homeschools her children using classical Christian education. Additionally, Yazmin Navarro, an Advance Colorado fellow, is also a current Colorado State Board of Education member, and another Advance Colorado Fellow, Dr. Debora Scheffel is a former Colorado State School Board member.

According to the Advance Colorado website, their educational resources include three key reports: “Celebrating School Choice in Colorado,” “Protecting Educational Freedom,” and “Ensuring Quality Education: What to Teach, How to Evaluate, and Choose Quality Curriculum.” The report titled “Ensuring Quality Curriculum: What to Teach,” authored by former Colorado State Board of Education member Dr. Debora Scheffel, provides insights into the Colorado academic standards, guidelines for curriculum evaluation, the Colorado Read Act, the Science of Reading, and information related to Math and Science curricula. While Dr. Scheffel’s recommendations for selecting curricula are useful, some concerns arise regarding the section on Social Studies and the suggested Social Studies and Science resources.

Concerns About Advance Colorado’s “Ensuring Quality Education: What to Teach, How to Evaluate, and Choose Quality Curriculum.” Report

The Social Studies section includes a brief discussion in which Dr. Scheffel refers to the National Association of Scholars and the Civics Alliance’s American Birthright Standards. Dr. Scheffel compares the American Birthright, a Social Studies framework, to Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, which is a textbook. It’s important to note that these are two distinct entities; a textbook can be utilized within a social studies framework to align with a specific set of standards, while the American Birthright Standards serve as a set of academic standards for which a textbook or curriculum may be aligned.

In addition, there have been numerous concerns regarding the American Birthright framework. Recently, the Sikh Coalition has voiced its opposition to the Social Studies Standards associated with American Birthright.

“March 18, 2025 (Nationwide) — Today, the Sikh Coalition urges you to take urgent action against the “American Birthright” model social studies standards, which are harmful to our nation’s students and dangerous for the Sikh community. These standards only mention Sikhi twice—most prominently calling for students to learn about “Sikh terror” as they “describe the history of independent India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka” in their 10th grade history classes.” An Open Letter to the Civics Alliance Regarding the “American Birthright” Model Social Studies Standards’ Offensive and Harmful Framing of Sikhs, Sikhi, and “Sikh Terror”

Social Studies Resource List Concerns

The Social Studies Resource Section includes the Civics Alliance American Birthright Standards. Despite Dr. Scheffel’s recommendation for the Colorado State Board of Education to adopt these standards, the Colorado State Board of Education rejected them. Additionally, the Social Studies resource listing features a book by Christian Nationalist David Barton titled 4 Centuries of American Education. What is the reason for this inclusion?

Who is David Barton?

David Barton is an Evangelical author, political activist, and Christian Nationalist known for promoting the controversial notion that the separation of church and state is a myth. He founded WallBuilders, a Texas-based organization dedicated to upholding what he argues are God-given, Constitutional rights by assisting government leaders who aim to preserve original Biblical foundations. Barton, who lacks formal historical training, approaches history through a political lens, revealing his biases. Barton’s book, The Jefferson Lies, was pulled by publisher Thomas Nelson because Thomas Nelson received numerous reports of factual errors in the book. ‘The Jefferson Lies’ is recalled by publisher Thomas Nelson

Science Resource List Concerns

The Science Resource section endorses the Franklin Science Standards, which were developed by the National Association of Scholars and Freedom in Education. The National Association of Scholars supports the Civics Alliance’s American Birthright Social Studies Standards, along with Freedom in Education. According to the Freedom In Education website, this non-profit organization, recognized as a 501(c)(3), is dedicated to promoting freedom in learning by empowering parents and teachers to enhance education for future generations. The website also showcases a variety of right-wing educational curricula, policy information, the Classical Learning Test—an alternative to the SAT endorsed by Florida Governor DeSantis—books, alternatives to social-emotional learning (SEL), and relevant legislation.

What is the National Association of Scholars?

According to the American Association of University Professors White Paper, “Manufacturing Backlash: Right-Wing Think Tanks and Legislative Attacks on Higher Education, 2021-2023,

  • The National Association of Scholars (NAS) works to develop and promote the conservative curricula that American Council on Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) would like to see boards impose.
  • NAS is an organization for conservative faculty that regularly publishes reports, journal articles, and other pieces promoting the teaching of Western civilization while opposing affirmative action, critical race theory, and diversity initiatives.
  • NAS organizes the Civics Alliance, a project premised on the claim that civics education in K-12 and higher education has become a “recruitment tool of the progressive left,” as exemplified in the adoption of the 1619 Project. The Civics Alliance brings together educators and policymakers to promote a civics education that presents America as embodying “an exceptional heritage of freedom”.
  • In reality, Civics Alliance is populated by members of conservative and libertarian think tanks. Coalition members include Christopher Rufo (MI), Keith Whitaker (NAS), Ryan Williams (Claremont), Peter Wood (NAS), Jenna Robinson (Martin Center), Stanley Kurtz (EPPC), Scott Yenor Claremont), George Leef, (Martin Center), and dozens of other individuals affiliated with right-wing publications, think tanks, foundations, or conservative activist organizations.
  • The Civics Alliance monitors state-level legislation pertaining to K-12 civics curriculum. The Civics Alliance has written seventeen model bills focused on K-12 and higher education, including legislation giving states greater “accreditation autonomy,” requiring “syllabus transparency,” and mandating “intellectual diversity”
  • Between 2020 and 2022, NAS has received $2.7 million from eleven of the top twenty- including the Sarah Scaife Foundation and the Bradley Foundation. In addition to sharing funders, sitting on shared boards, and circulating each other’s content, many of the think tanks explored in this chapter are also institutionally connected through the SPN.

Final Thoughts

With the upcoming Colorado School Board elections, it is essential for parents, grandparents, and community members who support Colorado public school students to vote. Advance Colorado has specific goals and significant funding, which could undermine Colorado Public Schools and influence curriculum decisions made by local school districts.

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