Iowa Governor Signs Civics Alliance-Informed Legislation … Oregon and Idaho Social Studies Standards Public Comments … Virginia Science Standards Public Comment … All this and more in the latest Resolute …

Iowa Governor Signs Civics Alliance-Informed Legislation 

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has just signed into law House File 2545 (HF 2545). HF 2545 directs the Iowa State Board of Education to review and revise Iowa’s social studies standards, “with a focus on United States history, government, founding philosophies and principles, important historical figures, western civilization, and civics.” HF 2545 details at length what Iowa social studies standards should look like. In doing so, it sketches a necessary and wonderful strengthening of Iowa’s public K-12 social studies education.

The National Association of Scholars and the Civics Alliance are honored that some of our model legislation informed HF 2545, including the Social Studies Curriculum Act, the Civics Course Act, the Western Civilization Act, and the United States History Act. We also are glad that Iowa policymakers adapted our model legislation to suit Iowa. We drafted our model legislation expecting and wanting it to be changed by policymakers who know their own state and are responsible to their state’s voters.

HF 2545 now needs to be put into effect by the State Board of Education. We strongly recommend that the State Board not delegate this task to the regular administrators of the Department of Education. Iowa policymakers would not have needed to enact HF 2545 if the Department of Education had executed properly its existing powers to draft social studies standards. Entrusting the Department of Education with this revision is an invitation to bureaucratic noncompliance with the spirit of HF 2545.

We urge the State Board to appoint an independent committee to review Iowa’s social studies standards and submit to the Board a draft revision. We especially urge the Board to charge that independent committee to model new social studies standards for Iowa on American Birthright: The Civics Alliance’s Model K-12 Social Studies Standards. We also urge Iowa policymakers, both legislators and the governor’s administration, to encourage the Board to appoint such an independent committee, and to support the Board and the Committee in the face of predictable opposition from radicals in Iowa’s education establishment, who are committed to the status quo that HF 2545 seeks to change.

Iowans who want to help out in this process should get in touch with David Randall (randall@nas.org), so we can make a strong collective push to reform Iowa social studies standards.

Civics Alliance Public Comment on Oregon and Idaho Social Studies Standards Revisions

The Civics Alliance has written public comments on Oregon’s and Idaho’s new draft social studies standards. Oregon’s is terribly radical, underpinned by statute and not just by administrative ambition. Idaho’s is reasonable—not too politicized, could be more rigorous, but it’s like night and day compared with Oregon’s. Resolute readers should look at Oregon’s social studies standards to get a sense of what the radical template is; they should look at Idaho’s to get a sense of what’s OK, even if it could be improved.

Virginia Science Standards Public Comment 

The National Association of Scholars has published a comment on Virginia’s science standards. Science standards revision is also on the agenda. Anyone who want to help out in this process should get in touch with David Randall (randall@nas.org), so we can make a strong collective push to reform science standards.

Recent Publications

Testimony

Would you like to be on a list of people prepared to give testimony in favor of a state bill to reform civics education? If so, please get in touch with me: randall@nas.org. We need people ready to testify in all 50 states—ideally, with some personal tie to the education system, but testimony from any citizen would be good.

State Social Studies Standards: What’s Coming Up

  • Alaska: Alaska’s Department of Education contracted with the American Institutes for Research to provide draft social studies standards. These draft standards were scheduled to be submitted to the State Board of Education and posted for public comment in March of 2024.

If you have news we don’t please write in and say! But as far as we can tell, that is the state of play for the present moment.

Civics Alliance Now Has Ten State Affiliates 

The Civics Alliance is building a network of state affiliates—groups dedicated to removing action civics in their states, whom we will list on our website. Our newest state affiliate is Nebraska, run by Dennis Applegarth. Welcome, Dennis and Nebraska! We now have ten affiliates, in Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas. If you would like to form such an organization, or suggest an existing organization, please get in touch with David Randall (randall@nas.org).

Monthly American Birthright Zoom Meeting 

The Civics Alliance will have its monthly Zoom session devoted to social studies standards reform on Monday, June 17, at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Please email randall@nas.org if you would like to join these monthly Zoom meetings.

Social Studies Standards Revision Schedule 

2024/Current: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Kentucky (partial), Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

2025: Kentucky, Nebraska, Texas

2026: Colorado, Maryland, North Dakota, South Carolina

2027: Hawaii, Kansas

2029: Louisiana

2030: Minnesota

2031: Illinois

No Revision Currently Scheduled: California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington.

Please email David Randall (randall@nas.org) if you are interested in further information about your state’s social studies revision process, and what you can do to participate.

Continuing Priorities: Federal Legislation 

At the federal level, the Civics Secures Democracy Act threatens to impose action civics nationwide.

The Civics Bill Tracker 

Civics Alliance supporters may now use the Civics Bill Tracker to track all proposed federal and state legislation related to civics.

Public Action 

We encourage Civics Alliance supporters to inform the public and policymakers about the stakes and consequences of action civics bills.

David Randall is Executive Director of the Civics Alliance and Director of Research at the National Association of Scholars.

Photo by Austin Goode on Unsplash