Ohio SB 1 Becomes Law

We are delighted that Governor Mike DeWine has signed into law Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act. SB 1 will do an extraordinary amount to depoliticize Ohio’s public higher education system, strengthen intellectual diversity, and restore its accountability to Ohio policymakers and citizens. This bill will invigorate higher education in Ohio and serve as a model of educational reform for the whole nation.

SB 1 takes some of its language and its concerns from different bills in the Civics Alliance’s Model Higher Education Code. Our model bills have informed most strongly these portions of SB 1:

  • Requirements that colleges and universities receiving state funds commit themselves to free speech and intellectual diversity. (Mission Statement Act)
  • Detailed budgetary transparency for each state institution of higher education. (College Finances Act)
  • Syllabus transparency requirements for state institutions of higher education. (Syllabus Transparency Act)
  • Requirements that colleges and universities receiving state funds commit prohibit both “diversity statements” and the inculcation of discriminatory concepts such as “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI). (Campus Intellectual Diversity Act)
  • Requirements of nondiscrimination by race, sex, or other group identity at state institutions of higher education. (Universities Nondiscrimination Act)
  • Establishment at state institutions of higher education of an undergraduate General Education Requirement in American government or American history. (American History Act, as well as the North Carolina REACH Act)

We crafted these model bills to support general principles of accountability, nondiscrimination, and civic mission. The Mission Statement Act is meant to prevent unaccountable accreditation bureaucracies from using university mission statements to impose ideologically extreme policies and programs. The College Finances Act is meant to make universities financially accountably by requiring them to inform the public and policymakers in detail about what they spend their money on. In particular, it requires universities to reveal what “diversity, equity, and inclusion” expenditures they finance. The Syllabus Transparency Act makes universities academically accountable by requiring them to tell what precisely they teach to the public, policymakers, and students about to sign up for a class. The Campus Intellectual Diversity Act and the Universities Nondiscrimination Act require nondiscrimination, whether on political grounds or on grounds of race, sex, or other group identity. The American History Act strengthens universities’ civic mission by adding a course in American history and government to their general education requirements. Prohibiting Chinese funding of universities likewise strengthens universities’ civic mission by preventing undue influence from America’s leading global competitor.

SB 1 focuses on higher education—and we also want state legislation to reform K-12 education and schools of education. But Civics Alliance supporters should know, above all, that the reforms we champion can become state law. Success is a wonderful precedent; let’s have more!

Utah SB 334 Becomes Law

Governor Spencer Cox signed Utah Senate Bill 334 (SB 334) into law. SB 334, informed by the model General Education Act (which the National Association of Scholars partly drafted) and the Syllabus Transparency Act (entirely drafted by the NAS) sets up an independent Center for Civic Excellence at Utah State University in charge of general education courses, and includes required courses on Western civilization and American civics as part of the general education requirements. There’s a strong hint that other public universities at Utah should do likewise.

The National Association and the Civics Alliance are delighted at the prospect that this bill has become law! It provides a new administrative structure that should make it easier to put general education reform into practice. It makes Western Civ and American Civics required courses. And making Western Civ and American Civics into required courses should increase the number of prospective K-12 teachers in Utah who know these subjects and can teach them to their students. K-12 reform requires a new system of teacher education, and SB 334 not only starts the reform of teacher education in Utah but also provides a model for how other states can do the same.

Readers who look at SB 334 and the General Education Act will see that SB 334 puts a lot more trust in the college professors to teach according to the spirit of the law than did the General Education Act. The Civics Alliance strongly urges Utah legislators to conduct continuing oversight on the actual operation of the law at Utah State—and to pass more laws, if necessary. We would not need such laws in the first place if professors were eager to teach these sorts of courses.

But that is premature pessimism. It’s wonderful news that Utah is reforming its general education requirements along the lines suggested by the General Education Act—wonderful news not just for higher education, but also for K-12 civics education.

Kentucky Social Studies Standards

The Civics Alliance and the National Association of Scholars have posted a comment on the current Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies (2022), to help inform the Department as it begins the process of reviewing and revising these standards. We conclude that the Standards require extensive overhaul—and that this improvement should be conducted by recruiting an independent commission to redraft new social studies standards.

Sikh Coalition Opposition

The Sikh Coalition contacted a number of state legislators, to register opposition to our model American Birthright social studies standards. They objected because we used the phrase “Sikh terror” to refer to—well, Sikh terror, notably the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. We’ve posted a response to their campaign. Civics Alliance supporters should know that thorough social studies standards will standardly arouse political campaigns from groups who object to historical content that hasn’t been neutered so it offends no one and teaches nothing.

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.

Civics Alliance Now Has Eleven 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. We now have eleven affiliates, in Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, 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, April 21, 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 

2025/Current: Arizona, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

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

Photo by Mikhail Pavstyuk on Unsplash