Social Studies Standards & Curriculum Debates Across States

2019

June– Tennessee A Popular Social Studies Curriculum Got an Internal Review. The Findings Weren’t Pretty | Ed Week

“Walker’s daughter was given the assignment last year in an issue of Studies Weekly, a national social studies publication that presents lessons on history, government, and society in a newspaper format, designed to be consumed week-by-week. The activity instructed her to write from the point of view of several Civil War-era actors, including a southern cotton plantation owner. Walker told the teacher that her daughter, who is black, would not be completing the assignment. “You’re teaching them the horrors of slavery, and then you’re asking them to give three pros for slavery?” she said in an interview with Education Week.”

2021

March– The National Association of Scholars is proud to announce The Civics Alliance, a new coalition of education reformers, policymakers, and concerned citizens dedicated to preserving traditional civics education against the threat of New Civics. The Civics Alliance: Open Letter and Curriculum Statement

June – Florida Gov. DeSantis signs civic literacy bills, takes aim at socialism, communism DeSantis has been under fire for his focus on Florida’s curriculum after he backed the Florida Board of Education’s decision earlier this month to ban the teaching of “critical race theory” in Florida classrooms. Critics said it is an attempt to whitewash history and keep conversations about race out of schools.

Dec. – Virginia Youngkin’s revised history standards draw from broader conservative movement The Virginia Department of Education is set to publish updated standards this week. But it’s still not clear how the previous document — assembled largely by an outside education consultant — came together. VPM News reached out to each of the nine individuals and groups listed by the department as contributors in the rejected draft to ask for clarification on their role in the document. The Civics Alliance, a coalition of conservative leaders aiming to “preserve civics education that teaches students to take pride in what they share as Americans,” was the most forthcoming. Its involvement dates back to September. David Randall, the group’s executive director, co-signed a letter to the board of education about suggested changes to the previous  draft standards presented in August and crafted largely under former Gov. Ralph Northam (D). Randall said the proposed draft would nudge students toward “radical ideology” of “group-identity politics.”

Defending History: Educators Stand Up to Protect Virginia’s Social Studies Standards

Inquiry Over Indoctrination: Teaching the Truth by Asking the Right Questions | Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium

June Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is Under Attack

Nov. -New Mexico Latest New Mexico K-12 curriculum controversy, only on Zoom | Durango Herald New Mexico officials are getting a flood of critical letters about proposed social studies standards in K-12 schools over the inclusion of racial identity and social justice themes in a majority Latino state where two dozen Indigenous tribes have persevered through war, famine, internment camps and boarding schools meant to stamp out their cultures.

2022

Jan. –South Dakota, Louisiana, New Mexico– Education Week reviewed hundreds of standards and thousands of pages of public comment relating to the standards-writing processes in South Dakota, Louisiana, and New Mexico, all of which took up revisions in 2021, and interviewed writers, educators, and state officials Revising America’s Racist Past

March – New Mexico New Mexico increases focus on race in K-12 despite backlash New Mexico’s K-12 students will see a greater focus on race and ethnicity, including Native American history, in their curriculum over the next two years under new standards aimed at making social studies teaching more culturally responsive.

March -Louisiana– Brumley said many of the changes were made in direct response to the public feedback on the original draft, which was generally negative. But it is not clear how representative that feedback was of parents’ opinions at large: Education Week found that many of those comments were cut and pasted from interest-group commentary—notably a document put out by the far-right National Association of Scholars.

June -Arizona– The bill is similar to a bill passed in Florida last year that was among a litany of other bills in the Sunshine State targeting socialism, communism and civic literacy. Nguyen pushed similar legislation last year, but it failed to win enough support to become law. Arizona High school graduation will be tied to learning about the evils of communism

June -Florida– The Florida Department of Education’s training of educators on new civics standards for K-12 public schools is underway and has prompted some critical comments. See for yourself: the slides shown to teachers during Florida’s civics training sessions

June – Colorado The latest recommendations depart significantly from an initial draft submitted to the board last year, making hundreds of changes sought by conservative activists, including the removal of many references to LGBTQ people, people of color, immigrants and other groups; stripping the document of language such as “equity” and “marginalized groups”; and excising historical events and themes that critics said amounted to an excessively negative view of U.S. history. Pam Benigno, director of education policy at the right-wing Independence Institute, thanked the committee for the changes during a public comment period Wednesday. Conservative feedback reshapes draft Colorado social studies standards

July –Florida- Already, the state’s approach is generating imitations. Civics Alliance, a conservative coalition of policymakers and academics, used Florida’s new civics standards as a model for its own national set of proposed guidelines, released late June. Arizona passed legislation in June containing passages lifted straight from a 2021 Florida law that, among other things, requires students to learn about the “blessings of liberty” and the “victims of other nations’ governing philosophies.”Revamped Florida Civics Education Aims for ‘Patriotism.’ Will It Catch On Elsewhere?

August- South Dakota- How do we know that Hillsdale College professor emeritus William Morrisey wrote the proposed K-12 social studies standards? Because that’s what his $200,000 state contract told him to do: Hillsdale’s Morrisey Wrote Social Studies Standards—Contract Says So

Oct. -Colorado– Republican State Board member Debora Scheffel had proposed tossing the civics standards developed by a committee of teachers, community members, and other experts and starting over using American Birthright as a base. American Birthright is a project of the Civics Alliance, a coalition whose mission statement says it formed to oppose a “new civics” more centered on global citizenship and activism than on understanding American ideals and responsibilities. Conservative American Birthright civics program rejected by Colorado State Board of Ed

Oct. – Virginia Defending History: Educators Stand Up to Protect Virginia’s Social Studies Standards. In October 2022, the administration of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin commissioned a secret rewrite of the state’s History and Social Science Standards of Learning to replace the draft that the state Department of Education had developed through its own standards revision process. This unprecedented step galvanized supporters of public education and spurred them to action. In partnership with a broad alliance of state and national organizations, Virginia educators successfully defended the integrity of social studies education. The final version of the standards, approved in April 2023, were far from perfect, but the advocacy of educators and their allies resulted in clear and measurable improvements that will benefit the state’s public school students. As the story in Virginia demonstrates, educators are a powerful force for leading dynamic coalitions to combat political interference in state education policy

Nov. -South Dakota– There are so many things not right with the proposed social studies standards as presented to the people of South Dakota, which includes Indigenous people. The processes for equity set by the State of South Dakota, specifically the South Dakota Department of Education, were not followed in this case. On the federal law side, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act states that the tribes be consulted on curriculum changes that address the tribes in South Dakota. This did not take place. ‘So many things not right’ with proposed social studies standards

Nov. – South Dakota Social Studies standards revision meeting draws nearly 900 public comments before deadline The revised standards are “politicized,” said Tim Graf, superintendent of the Harrisburg School District — one of South Dakota’s fastest growing school districts. The changes involved a 15-member committee and were influenced by a conservative college, according to the Associated Press. Of the three educators on the committee, all three opposed the revised standards, Graf added.

Nov. – Utah Conservative groups like Utah Parents United have been outspoken on what curricula should look like. They have complained that versions of the new standards were negative about America and would teach students to be activists. A similar message was shared by state school board member Natalie Cline. Utah Citizens for the Constitution said the standards did not teach enough about civics, American history and the Constitution. Utah State Board of Education will vote this week on new social studies standards

2023

Jan.- Updating Social Studies Expectations in the ‘Critical Race Theory’ Era | EdWeek Charges that new standards included critical race theory complicated the process in South Dakota, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Other states, like Texas, delayed the process, and still others, like Florida, introduced new training for teachers that included controversial statements about Christianity and the founding of the nation.

Jan. -Woodland Park, Colorado– The board of a small school district in Teller County passed a resolution Wednesday night to use the conservative American Birthright social studies standards that emphasize patriotism and American exceptionalism, just a month after the state board of education rejected them.The standards were championed by the district’s new interim superintendent, Ken Witt, a former Jefferson County board president. He was recalled along with two other board members in 2015 after they tried to inject patriotism into the history curriculum. Woodland Park School District adopts conservative American Birthright social studies standards after the state board rejected them

April- South Carolina In an April 20th, 2023 story by Greg Childress in N.C. Newsline, he reported how the Beaufort County School Board was “surprised” by “a lawmaker’s attempt to authorize use of a controversial social studies curriculum developed by conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan . . ..”Attempt to slip anti-Black history curriculum into bill aborted

April –South Dakota– Critics of the standards raised concerns over age-appropriateness of topics, a heavy focus on memorization, and lack of emphasis on Native American history. Supporters argued the standards will increase students’ understanding of government structure and history and are free from political agendas. Social studies standards accepted despite opposition

April -South Dakota– The Hillsdale Effect:South Dakota’s Troubling New Social Studies Standards

April -Florida- “As this timeline will demonstrate, Adams was talked into abandoning his plan to go into think tank policy work to become a classical civics teacher and become Arnn’s right-hand man in creating the Patriotic curriculum both for Hillsdale College and President Trump.“The Hillsdale College “Grooming” of Jordan Adams

April – Virginia After months of debate, Virginia Board of Education adopts history standards During the past six months, critics condemned what they described as a lack of transparency regarding who authored the changes. The Department of Education has said nine outside individuals and groups contributed to the drafting of the standards, including the conservative-leaning Civics Alliance, Fordham Institute and Hillsdale College. “One of the things I think was horrible throughout this process is the lack of transparency,” said speaker Terrell Fleming Thursday.

May -Ohio- Ohio’s legislative majority continues its dishonest attacks on democracy in the Buckeye State. House Bill 103 is a shameful attempt to micromanage Ohio K-12 educational curriculum based on ideology that is rooted in the politically motivated culture wars. Ohio House lawmakers proposing extremist right-wing rewrite of state social studies curriculum

May- Ohio – A Republican-led bill that’s already seen committee activity since being introduced in March is House Bill 103, which seeks to create a “social studies task force” to develop academic standards for K-12 social studies.Those studies have a specific model in HB 103, however, with the bill specifically targeting standards presented in “American Birthright: The Civics Alliance’s Model K-12 Social Studies Standards.”Ohio K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Goes Under the Microscope

July – Pennsylvania On June 20, educational consultant Jordan Adams delivered a much-anticipated presentation to the Pennridge School Board, revealing his recommended changes to the Eastern Pennsylvania school district’s social studies curriculum. Adams, the founder of Vermilion Education, appeared via Zoom. The curriculum experts who work for the district recommended that first grade social studies focus on “Rules and Responsibilities,” “Geography,” and “Important People and Places.” Adams instead proposed that 6- and 7-year-olds learn “American History: 1492-1787” and “World History: Ancient Near East.” The right-wing scheme to upend public education — for $125 per hour

July -Florida/PragerU– Florida approves use of conservative content from ‘Prager U’ in schools

Aug. -Texas/PragerU Texas education advocates condemn ‘PragerU’ curriculum

Aug -Montana/PragerU– Conservative nonprofit obtains Montana textbook license

Sept. -Florida & Oklahoma– are both conservative states making changes to their education systems this year, pushing back on what they claim is an increasingly “woke” agenda in classrooms.  What Is PragerU: Controversial Conservative Platform Entering Classrooms In Florida And Oklahoma 

Sept. -Oklahoma/PragerU Oklahoma is promoting a history curriculum using videos by conservative group PragerU

Sept. New Hampshire/PragerU Conservative group PragerU wins approval to offer online course to NH students

Sept. -Pennsylvania- “For example, the Hillsdale curriculum repeatedly suggests that America’s Founding Fathers had deep reservations about slavery. The ninth grade Pennridge curriculum will require a Hillsdale lesson that encourages students to “[c]onsider also that even among the southern founders who supported slavery or held slaves, several leading founders expressed regret and fear of divine retribution for slavery in America, such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.” The curriculum states that, “Some freed their slaves as well, such as George Washington.” The same wording is also included in the required Hillsdale lesson for fourth graders.” Pennsylvania school district requires social studies classes to incorporate right-wing propaganda 

Oct. Garfield Re-2, Colorado– An effort to adopt a controversial, conservative set of social studies standards fell flat in Garfield County Wednesday night, after its district Re-2 school board voted to stick with the state-approved curriculum. The board’s 3-1 decision to adopt the state standards comes after months of debate over the American Birthright Standards (ABS), which promote patriotism, Christianity, and American exceptionalism. After community protest, Garfield County school board lays to rest conservative social studies curriculum

2024

Jan. -Arizona/PragerU Arizona superintendent announces partnership with PragerU

May -Louisiana/PragerU Louisiana will let public schools show right-wing group’s ‘edu-tainment’ videos, sparking outcry

Sept. -South Carolina/PragerU SC Superintendent announces partnership with conservative media organization PragerU

Sept. -Oklahoma Sources: New draft social studies standards mirror ‘American Birthright’ model Sources exclusively told FOX 25 the Social Studies Standards Committee met with the Oklahoma State Department of Education behind closed doors on Tuesday. They said they were given a draft set of new standards created by an executive team. Sources said they could not take the documents with them and had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. However, they said the new standards were almost verbatim from the American Birthright: The Civic Alliance’s Model K-12 Social Studies Standards. According to the Civic Alliance’s website, the American Birthright teaches students to, “Identify ideals, institutions, and individual examples of human liberty, individualism, religious freedom and republican self-government; assess the extent to which civilizations have fulfilled these ideals; and describe how the evolution of these ideals in different times and places has contributed to the formation of modern American ideals.”

Sept -Oklahoma ‘I want to throw up’: Committee members dismayed over social studies standards draft

Oct. -Idaho/PragerU Idahoans have mixed reactions to divisive PragerU curriculum

2025

May -Oklahoma– Oklahoma’s new social studies standards for K-12 public school students, already infused with references to the Bible and national pride, were revised at the direction of state School Superintendent Ryan Walters.  New standards for Oklahoma high school students promote misinformation about the 2020 election

Nov. -Texas– David Randall, executive director of the Civics Alliance and research director of the National Association of Scholars, was also appointed a content adviser. He has criticized standards he felt were “animated by a radical identity-politics ideology” and hostile to America and “groups such as whites, men, and Christians.” Randall has written that vocabulary emphasizing “systemic racism, power, bias, and diversity” cannot coexist with “inquiry into truth — much less affection for America.” He has called the exclusion of the Bible and Christianity in social studies instruction “bizarre,” adding that no one “should find anything controversial” about teaching the role of “Judeo-Christian values” in colonial North America. Another panelist is Jordan Adams, a self-described independent education consultant who holds degrees from Hillsdale College, a Michigan-based campus known nationally for its hard-right political advocacy and efforts to shape classroom instruction in a conservative Christian vision. That group includes David Barton, a far-right conservative Christian activist who gained national prominence arguing against common interpretations of the First Amendment’s establishment clause, which prevents the government from endorsing or promoting a religion. Barton believes that America was founded as a Christian nation, which many historians have disproven.   Texas State Board of Education advisers signal push to the right in social studies overhaul

Nov. -Florida- In Florida, newly adopted social studies standards on communism instruct educators to teach students about the “repackaging of Marxist ideology” in current political discourse, and the “dangers of propaganda” in modern media. Historians have said the standards present a skewed picture and minimize the consequences of McCarthyism in the United States.Communism, American Exceptionalism Latest Flashpoints in State History Standards 

2026

Jan. -Nebraska– “These aren’t good standards,” Royers told the Examiner. “This isn’t the right way to teach history.”Royers also said the way the proposal is written steps on the toes of local boards of education. He said Murman should “let teachers write the social studies standards.”New bill would require Nebraska K-12 schools to teach anti-communist lessons

Feb. -Utah/PragerU “Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of education history at the University of Pennsylvania, told PBS News last year that the problem with the videos is that they “pretend that they’re simply factual.” While they may not be factually inaccurate, they have a “very distinct perspective,” he told the news outlet. Schools Get Conservative Group Videos After Complaints of ‘Woke’ Ideology

March -Tennessee– “Teaching the truth to protect freedom,” Bowling said during the meeting. “America’s founding principles, individual liberties, limited government and constitutional rights stand in direct opposition to communist ideology.”Tennessee bill mandating lessons on the ‘history of communism’ passes Senate

March -Iowa– And, of course, the bill is not an Iowa idea. It’s another warmed over, red-state-think-tank idea. In this case it’s the work of the National Association of Scholars and the Civics Alliance, conservative groups trying to dictate how history, civics and social studies are taught across the country to promote their narrow worldview and their right-wing “American Birthright” curriculum. Iowa Republican lawmakers see history education as a political weapon

March -South Dakota– But the National Association of Scholars says the Common Core has injected too much confusion into math education and lacks rigor. The group aims to instead introduce more memorization of math facts and pare down the number of words used to describe the knowledge that students should be taught at each grade level.After fights over social studies standards, conservative activists come for math

March –Oklahoma- The Education Department, now led by state Superintendent Lindel Fields, released a new draft of the social studies standards on Jan. 29 that deleted references to Bible stories, Jesus and the polarizing content. The new standards, available for public comment until late February, otherwise resembled the version Walters’ administration developed.Oklahoma New social studies standards pass Oklahoma State Board of Education vote

April -Oklahoma The National Association of Scholars (NAS) and the Civics Alliance congratulate Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Lindel Fields, the members of Oklahoma’s State Board of Education, and Governor Kevin Stitt for their work to improve Oklahoma’s social studies standards. Oklahoma’s social studies standards adoption process has been unusually tangled, but the end result has been a substantial improvement. New Oklahoma social studies standards restore patriotism, civic foundations

April –Texas– The new framework also would eliminate sixth grade world culture courses altogether. Because topics are taught in chronological order, students would only learn about ancient history in earlier grades. Additionally, the history of Black Civil War heroes and indigenous people were left out of early outlines The board also appointed nine content advisors to help guide the curriculum, and only one has experience working in a Texas public school. Three others—David Barton, David Randall, and Jordan Adams—hold far-right views, and the Texas Freedom Network previously launched a petition calling for their removal. .Texas Inside Texas’s controversial social studies overhaul

April -Texas– “They’re writing topics that are being taken as standards for kindergartners and first graders when they really don’t even have a good understanding of the cognitive and developmental abilities of 6-year-olds,” she said. Dougherty said that while using chronological order makes sense on the surface, the curriculum jumps from ancient history to Texas history. She said jumping around topics will make it hard for younger kids to get a good grasp of history and connect abstract ideas to the present.” Texas is changing its social studies curriculum. Critics say it’s too state-centric

April -Utah- “But opponents of the law argue that placing such emphasis on text from one religious tradition is inherently proselytizing. Requiring teachers to interpret Biblical passages “will inevitably blur the line between education and religious endorsement,” reads a March 31 statement from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for the separation of church and state.” Another State Is Requiring Students to Study the Bible in School

April -Texas- “The State Board of Education has approved a draft proposal to overhaul the state’s social studies standards. Critics say the new standards will minimize diverse perspectives in how U.S. history is taught.”Texas education board advances history standards critics say remove diverse views

April -Texas- “AHA senior program analyst Julia Brookins testified before the Texas State Board of Education about the review of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards for social studies on April 10. She testified that the state was creating standards out of alignment with established best practices for which no educational and professional development resources currently exist, only to then “commission a custom educational product with a huge contract, awarded to a political ally, for an educational resource that is designed to fit the unvetted, destructive standards.” AHA Staff Criticizes Texas Social Studies Standards Revision Process Before State Board of Education

April- Texas – That organization is the Civics Alliance, a project of the National Association of Scholars. Its product is called American Birthright. And the evidence that it was installed in the Texas TEKS revision process is documented in the organization’s own publications, in the IRS filings of its funders, and in the feedback memos of the advisors who shaped the standards. What are their goals? They seek to replace inquiry-based, skills-focused social studies with a content-heavy framework centered on Western civilization, American exceptionalism, and free enterprise as the definition of liberty. American Birthright is a single document produced by a single out-of-state organization with no proven content or pedagogical expertise, strategically designed for identical adoption in all 50 states, not for quality education, but for ideological indoctrination. The law was designed to stop exactly this. It just assumed the outside interest would arrive from the left. Product Placement How a billionaire-funded network is installing its national curriculum in Texas schools and more importantly, why

April- Florida- “With the resurgence of communist ideologies across the United States and throughout the world, it is more important than ever for students to understand the catastrophic failures and human suffering caused by communist regimes,” said Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas.” Florida communism classes will get new update later this year

May- Florida Florida has a new U.S. history course. How is Hillsdale College connected?

Florida creates ‘anti-woke’ AP history alternative for students The state announced a state-developed alternative to taking an Advanced Placement (AP) course in U.S. history, which students take in high school to count for college credits.

June- Texas “As a result of these and other irregularities, SBOE was never provided with the required basis for comparing a proposed new product that is going to cost taxpayers a billion dollars with the one you already have,” said Julia Brookins, special projects coordinator at the American Historical Association, before the board on Friday. “These have been apparent for months. Students and families will likely be living with them for years to come.”

“This is not quality work. This is incompetence,” said Dougherty. “A document assembled in the dark by people who are not educators and are not content experts in social studies, decided what a generation of Texas children will and won’t learn. And the people who show up to testify – teachers, experts, parents — are treated with contempt.” Texas adds Bible stories in curriculum overhaul

June- Texas Why Texas’ Fight Over Social Studies Standards Has National Consequences “A growing number of states—including Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Utah—have moved to incorporate Christian teaching and text into K-12 classrooms. Texas has been a leader in this trend, requiring classrooms to display a copy of the Ten Commandments and approving a state curriculum for elementary English/language arts that prominently features Bible stories and references to religious figures. Also, this week, the state board is considering a required reading list for grades K-12 ELA classes, which includes excerpts from the Old and New testaments. Because Texas has the second-largest number of students in the nation, publishers keep a close eye on changes to standards in the state. “Traditionally,” said Chancey, “what happens in Texas affects material that ends up in textbooks.”

June- Texas Key Concerns with the Texas Draft Standards | American Historical Association

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