Idaho Enacts DEI Ban

Idaho has just passed Senate Bill 1198, which prohibits diversity programs and policies in public postsecondary institutions. It’s a good, comprehensive bill, which includes enforcement and responsibility provisions. We’ve been tracking a fair number of bills banning or limiting “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) around the nation; right now Idaho’s and Florida’s are the models for the nation.

Right now, there are about 18 states that have limited DEI in one way or another. That should give education reformers real cause for hope—indeed, real hope for confidence. There’s only been a trickle of states passing anti-DEI legislation each year, but a trickle added to a trickle adds up to a substantial number. Each year, education reformers learn from experience and make the legislation better. Idaho can be the model for more states next year—including states that want to update their initial bills to restrict DEI. We are within sight of getting half the states in the union banning DEI programs and policies.

The laws still need to be enforced upon contumacious universities, and similarly recalcitrant organizations and individuals throughout civil society. But we are beginning to break the national infrastructure for DEI careers. We will reach the real tipping point when college graduates no longer decide to go into DEI careers. We’re not there yet, but that goal is in sight.

And what’s true of DEI reform is true of every other aspect of education reform. We are building our successes, year by year.

West Virginia Authorizes Washington Center

West Virginia has authorized a new independent civic institute, the Washington Center for Civics, Culture, and Statesmanship at West Virginia University. West Virginia joins states including Arizona, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Texas, in establishing such civics institutes. (And Iowa may join the band later this year.) These civics institutes are also in a fair way to becoming a national network. Education reformers are doing well in this campaign.

Florida History of Communism Standards Workgroup Finishes Work

Florida law requires new history of communism standards. Yours truly has been working on the Workgroup, and I think it has done rather fine work. I look forward eagerly to what the Florida Education Department finally releases—hopefully in the next few months.

Arkansas Introduces Core Curriculum Bill

Arkansas House Bill 1696 (HB 1696) would transform Arkansas’ public university systems general education requirements into a core curriculum. It also strengthens Arkansas’ existing American History and Government general education requirement by specifying that it will include “Instruction in the essentials of the United States Constitution” and “The study of American institutions and ideals.”

HB 1696 works in the spirit of the Civics Alliance’s model legislation, both the Core Curriculum Act (which reforms general education requirements but preserves a distribution requirement structure) and the General Education Act (which transforms general education requirements into a core curriculum). It is a parallel reform effort that works toward the same end—to restore a rigorous, depoliticized, shared education in America’s public universities.

HB 1696 is far less detailed than either the Core Curriculum Act or the General Education Act. It would delegate much of the details of Arkansas’ new core curriculum to Arkansas’ Division of Higher Education: e.g., “’Requisite core curriculum’ means the fifteen (15) semester credit hours of introductory survey courses as determined by the Division of Higher Education.” Governor Huckabee has been a champion for education reform, and we are sure that her appointees will work to make sure that HB 1696 fulfills legislative intent. The permanent bureaucracy, of course, requires oversight, or members of the radical education establishment may work to make sure that the bill has no effect. If HB 1696 passes, Arkansas citizens and policymakers will need to keep an eye on the Division of Higher Education, to make sure all its personnel are supporting the bill properly.

We have proposed the greater detail of the Core Curriculum Act and the General Education Act precisely because it is not easy for citizens and policymakers to keep a permanent eye on education bureaucrats. These two acts also state more explicitly that public universities cannot add courses beyond the state required core, and cannot add “double-counting” requirements that would force students to take (say) a Humanities course that also must satisfy a Diversity requirement. We suggest that Arkansas policymakers who wish to deepen education reform might follow up on HB 1696 in future legislative sessions with legislation informed by one or both of our model bills. But this suggestion does not diminish our support for HB 1696. It has been well crafted by state legislators and we are sure that Governor Huckabee’s administration will make sure that the Division of Higher Education follows legislative intent.

Federal Initiatives

It sure would change the education landscape if the U.S. Department of Education were eliminated, as promised! Everything we do—well, we do focus on state initiatives, and what happens at the federal level won’t change the need to work on the state level. But of course federal regulations and money provide a very important context for what happens at the states and the school districts. But at this point, we can’t anticipate precisely what the future is for federal education policy. We are trying to be ready for any eventuality.

New Civics Alliance Model Legislation

Politics Out of Schools Act: The Politics Out of Schools Act discourages politically motivated mass student walkouts in K-12 public schools.

History of Communism Taskforce Act: The History of Communism Taskforce Act creates a social studies task force, appointed by the governor and the state legislature, to draft social studies standards based on History of Communism Model State Standards.

In-State Enrollment Act: The In-State Enrollment Act caps out-of-state enrollment for entering freshmen at 18 percent for each public university campus.

China Gift Act: The China Gift Act bans public universities from accepting gifts from the People’s Republic of China.

Professional Association Liberty Act: The Professional Association Liberty Act prohibits all state funding or support for any professional association that requires commitments to discriminatory concepts, imposes censorship, or requires abridgement of First Amendment rights.

Program Review Act: The Program Review Act establishes a Task Force to review all undergraduate and graduate academic programs offered at a public university system so that policymakers will know which academic programs and departments should be discontinued and defunded.

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, May 19, 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 Alexandra Gold on Unsplash