INTRODUCTION

The activist establishment now uses general education requirements to impose propaganda courses on students. General education requirements such as Diversity or Social Justice propagandize students, divert student tuition and faculty tenure-track lines to fund faculty dedicated to radical activism, and steer students away from the core knowledge they actually need. The activist establishment also allows requirements such as Diversity or Social Justice to double-count and satisfy Humanities or Social Science courses. This tactic ensures that the only Humanities and Social Science courses most students take will be courses in radical propaganda.

The activist establishment also has expanded the number of required courses and imposed a large and unnecessary financial burden on students. Policymakers should control the increase in general education requirements to save their constituents from financial hardship.

Policymakers also should prevent activist educators from using general education requirements to impose propaganda on their students. They can do this by using their established powers to set standards for 1) Core Transfer Curricula that allow students to transfer credits between different public university systems; 2) Dual Enrollment classes, where high school students take courses at public universities; and 3) Dual Credit classes, where high school students take courses for college credit within their high schools. Policymakers should align these different systems so that students can fulfil public university general education requirements entirely within the Core Transfer Curricula system, and in part or in whole by means of Dual Enrollment or Dual Credit during high school. Policymakers can set the standards for all of these core classes.

Our model bill first establishes general education requirements for all institutions of higher education, limits general education requirements to 40 semester credit hours, limits the number of courses that may be selected to satisfy any individual general education requirement, and prohibits virtually all administrative arrangements to allow a course to satisfy multiple general education requirements. It also establishes general education requirements in Western Heritage and American Heritage and allows these to satisfy Social Science or Humanities general education requirements (Section A). The bill then establishes a core transfer curriculum (Section B), a dual enrollment system (Section C), and a dual credit system (Section D), all designed to work together to allow students to satisfy university general education requirements by means of courses where state policymakers may review the courses’ content standards.

Section A specifies that the School of Intellectual Freedom shall determine annually which courses qualify for the Western Heritage and American Heritage general education requirements. This stipulation is meant to ensure that only courses taught properly qualify for these two general education requirements. This model bill therefore will function most effectively if passed in tandem with the School of Intellectual Freedom Act.

Our model bill establishes the Western Heritage and American Heritage general education requirements at 3 semester credit hours each, allowing them to count toward the Humanities (6 semester credit hours) and Social Sciences (6 semester credit hours). Policymakers instead could simply replace the Humanities and Social Sciences general education requirements with Western Heritage and American Heritage general education requirements.

Our American History Act can be enacted to complement this act, or as a stand-alone act.

MODEL LEGISLATIVE TEXT

Section A [“General Education Requirements”]

The {Board of Regents} of the {State} public university system, and each institution of higher education that receives state funding, shall develop and adopt a general education requirements policy that states, at least, the following:

1. Each institution of higher education shall require no more than 40 semester credit hours as general education requirements.
2. Each institution of higher education shall establish these general education requirements:

A. English Composition (6 semester credit hours)

B. Foreign Language (6 semester credit hours)

C. Mathematics and Statistics (6 semester credit hours)

D. Natural Sciences (6 semester credit hours)

E. Social Sciences (6 semester credit hours)

F. Humanities (6 semester credit hours)

G. Western Heritage (3 semester credit hours)

H. American Heritage (3 semester credit hours)

3. Each institution of higher education shall select no more than 10 semester courses, each of them an introductory or survey course, to satisfy any individual general education requirement; except that the Foreign Languages general education requirement may include an unlimited number of introductory foreign language courses.
4. Courses that satisfy the Western Heritage general education requirement shall consist of introductory survey courses concerning the Western Heritage, such as Western Civilization, British Literature, or Greek Philosophy.
5. All courses that satisfy the Western Heritage general education requirement shall also count toward satisfying the Social Sciences or the Humanities general education requirement.
6. Courses that satisfy the American Heritage general education requirement shall consist of introductory survey courses concerning the American Heritage, such as U. S. History, {State} History, American Government, or American Literature.
7. All courses that satisfy the American Heritage general education requirement shall also count toward satisfying the Social Sciences or the Humanities general education requirement.
8. {The School of Intellectual Freedom} shall determine annually which courses will satisfy the Western Heritage and American Heritage general education requirements.
9. Only Western Heritage and American Heritage courses may satisfy multiple general education requirements; no other course may satisfy multiple general education requirements.
10. Each institution of higher education may add to the number of semester credit hours within each general education requirement listed in Section A, Subsection 2, up to a total requirement of 40 semester credit hours; but no institution of higher education may add a new general education requirement to those listed in Section A, Subsection 2.
11. No School within an institution of higher education may require additional general education requirements.
12. Courses that satisfy a general education requirement may not include:

A. courses that include experiential learning;

B. courses exclusively or primarily devoted to subgroups of Americans or other nationalities, categorized by race, sex, class, gender identity, or gender expression;

C. courses that require students as a condition of passing any class to engage in activism; or

D. courses that require students as a condition of passing any class to affirm or assent to discriminatory concepts.

Section B [“Core Transfer Curriculum”]

The {Board of Regents} of the {State} public university system, and each institution of higher education that receives state funding, shall develop and adopt a core transfer curriculum policy that states, at least, the following:

1. The {Board of Regents} of the {State} public university system, and each institution of higher education that receives state funding, as well as nominees selected by the state legislature, shall develop a recommended core transfer curriculum of at least 40 semester credit hours that shall fully satisfy the general education requirements listed in Section A.
2. Each institution of higher education shall offer every course in the core transfer curriculum at least once a year.
3. If a student successfully completes any course in the core transfer curriculum at an institution of higher education, that course may be transferred to any other institution of higher education. A student shall receive academic credit for each of the core transfer curriculum courses transferred. A student shall be considered to have satisfied a general education requirement for each of the core transfer curriculum courses transferred.
4. Core transfer curriculum courses may not include:

A. courses that include experiential learning;

B. courses exclusively or primarily devoted to subgroups of Americans or other nationalities, categorized by race, sex, class, gender identity, or gender expression;

C. courses that require students as a condition of passing any class to engage in activism; or

D. courses that require students as a condition of passing any class to affirm or assent to discriminatory concepts.

5. The core transfer curriculum adopted by the {Board of Regents} of the {State} public university system, and each institution of higher education that receives state funding, shall be subject to legislative review. The core transfer curriculum shall not be implemented by the Board of Regents} of the {State} public university system, or any institution of higher education that receives state funding, until the legislative review process is completed as provided for in this subsection.

A. Upon adoption of the core transfer curriculum, or upon any later revision of the core transfer curriculum, the {Board of Regents} of the {State} public university system shall submit the adopted core transfer curriculum to the Speaker of the House of Representatives or a designee and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or a designee prior to the last thirty (30) days of the legislative session.

B. By adoption of a joint resolution, the Legislature shall approve the core transfer curriculum, disapprove the core transfer curriculum in whole or in part, amend the core transfer curriculum in whole or in part, or disapprove the core transfer curriculum in whole or in part with instructions to the Board of Regents} of the {State} public university system, provided that such joint resolution becomes law. If the joint resolution is vetoed by the Governor and the veto has not been overridden, the core transfer curriculum shall be deemed approved. If the Legislature fails to adopt a joint resolution within thirty (30) legislative days following submission of the core transfer curriculum, the s core transfer curriculum shall be deemed approved.

C. If the core transfer curriculum is disapproved in whole or in part with instructions as provided for in this section, the Board of Regents} of the {State} public university system may adopt a new core transfer curriculum and submit the new core transfer curriculum for legislative review pursuant to this section. The Board of Regents} of the {State} public university system shall continue to implement the current core transfer curriculum in place until the new core transfer curriculum has been reviewed by the Legislature and approved as provided for in this section. If the core transfer curriculum is amended, approved in part, or disapproved in part with instructions, the Board of Regents} of the {State} public university system of Education may revise the core transfer curriculum in accordance with the legislative changes and implement the core transfer curriculum.

D. Upon final approval of the core transfer curriculum, the core transfer curriculum shall be considered final agency rules. A core transfer curriculum approved and published as provided for in this subsection shall have the same force and effect of law as agency rules.

E. Unless otherwise provided by specific vote of the Legislature, joint resolutions introduced for purposes of approving, disapproving, amending or disapproving with instructions any core transfer curriculum shall not be subject to regular legislative cutoff dates, shall be limited to such provisions as may be necessary for approving, disapproving, amending or disapproving with instructions any core transfer curriculum and any such other direction or mandate regarding the core transfer curriculum deemed necessary by the Legislature. The joint resolution shall contain no other provisions.

F. All existing core transfer curricula must be submitted to the Legislature for review within one year of the passage into law of this bill.

Section C [“Dual Enrollment”]

1. Each institution of higher education that receives state funding shall allow eligible high school students to enroll in core transfer curriculum courses located at the institution of higher education.
2. Each secondary school that receives state funding shall allow eligible high school students to enroll in core transfer curriculum courses located at an institution of higher education that receives state funding.
3. Each secondary school that receives state funding shall accept postsecondary credit awarded for core transfer curriculum courses as meeting secondary school graduation requirements.
4. A student who has completed grade 10 but has not received a high school diploma is eligible to take a core transfer curriculum course if the student is:

A. a resident of {State};

B. enrolled in a publicly funded school, a private school, or home study; and

C. sufficiently prepared to succeed in a core transfer curriculum course, as determined by the institution of higher education and the institutional venue of secondary enrollment, by means which may include an assessment tool or tools identified by the participating institution of higher education.

5. Eligible students, as determined by Section C, Subsection 2, may enroll in core transfer curriculum courses at public institutions of higher education, both during the school year and during the summer. 
6. The {State Education Department} will pay tuition, at the rate charged by the public institution of higher education to state residents, for up to two core transfer curriculum courses at public institutions of higher education for each eligible student prior to completion of secondary school.

Section D [“Dual Credit”]

1. Each institution of higher education that receives state funding shall cooperate with {State} public and private secondary schools to establish core transfer curriculum courses on secondary school campuses.
2. Each secondary school that receives state funding shall allow eligible high school students to enroll in core transfer curriculum courses located at the secondary school campus.
3. Each secondary school that receives state funding shall accept postsecondary credit awarded for core transfer curriculum courses as meeting secondary school graduation requirements.
4. A student who has completed grade 10 but has not received a high school diploma is eligible to take a core transfer curriculum course at a secondary school campus if the student is:

A. a resident of {State};

B. enrolled in a publicly funded school, a private school, or home study; and

C. sufficiently prepared to succeed in a core transfer curriculum course, as determined by the institution of higher education and the institutional venue of secondary enrollment, by means which may include an assessment tool or tools identified by the participating institution of higher education.

5. When a core transfer curriculum course is offered on a secondary school campus, the participating institution of higher education shall:

A. retain authority to determine course content;

B. work with the secondary school to select, monitor, support, and evaluate instructors; and

C. maintain the postsecondary academic record of each participating student and provide transcripts on request.

Section E [“Definitions”]

As used in this Act:

1. “Discriminatory concepts” means the concepts that: (a) one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex; (b) an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously; (c) an individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of the individual’s race; (d) members of one race cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race; (e) an individual’s moral standing or worth is necessarily determined by his or her race or sex; (f) an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex; (g) any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex; (h) meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist, or were created by a members of a particular race to oppress members of another race; (i) that the advent of slavery in the territory that is now the United States constituted the true founding of the United States; or (j) that, with respect to their relationship to American values, slavery and racism are anything other than deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to, the authentic founding principles of the United States, which include liberty and equality.
2. “Activism” means activity outside the classroom aimed at achieving a political or a social goal.

Section F [“Severability”]

If any provision of this chapter, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this chapter and the application of its provisions to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.

 

SAMPLE EXISTING STATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Core Transfer Curricula

Florida: Early Learning 20

Indiana: Core Transfer Library

Missouri: Missouri Higher Education Core Transfer Curriculum (CORE 42)

Texas: Transfer of Credits; Core Curriculum and Core Curriculum

Dual Enrollment

Florida: Dual Enrollment Programs

Vermont: Dual Enrollment Program

Wisconsin: Dual Enrollment and Dual Courses

Dual Courses

Illinois: Dual Credit Quality Act

Wisconsin: Dual Enrollment and Dual Courses

The National Association of Scholars, in consultation with other supporters and friends of the Civics Alliance, drafted these model bills to translate into legislative language the principles in the Civics Alliance’s Civics Curriculum Statement & Open Letter. Just as these bills have been drafted with the expectation that different states will modify them as they see fit, they also have been drafted with the expectation that not every supporter of the Civics Alliance will endorse these bills or every part of them. Individual Civics Alliance signatories and supporters should not be assumed to have endorsed these bills, unless they say so explicitly.