The Civics Alliance is moving full speed ahead with its nationwide campaign for social studies standards reform. If you are concerned about the state of social studies education in your local school district, now is the perfect time to get involved!

Social Studies Standards: Reform Campaign

Virginia: The Civics Alliance and the National Association of Scholars submitted a public comment urging Virginia’s Board of Education to make substantial revision to their draft social studies standards. We urge Virginia members to write similarly to the Board of Education, to Gov. Youngkin, and to state legislators. If you are interested in social studies reform work in Virginia, please send an email to David Randall (randall@nas.org).

Kentucky: The Civics Alliance and the National Association of Scholars submitted a public comment urging Kentucky’s Department of Education to make substantial revision to their draft social studies standards. We have also published an open letter where Kentucky citizens can show their support for our recommendations. We urge Kentucky members to write similarly to the Board of Education, to Gov. Beshear, and to state legislators. If you are interested in social studies reform work in Kentucky, please send an email to David Randall (randall@nas.org).

Mississippi: Mississippi just released its social studies standards on September 29. We will be making a public comment as soon as possible. If you are interested in social studies reform work in Mississippi, please send an email to David Randall (randall@nas.org).

Model State Laws: Joint Release with the America First Policy Institute

On September 29, the National Association of Scholars and the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) jointly released “10 State Policies To Restore Excellent K-12 Public Education in America.” These policies are model laws for the states drawn from the Civics Alliance’s Model K-12 Civics Code. We are delighted that the AFPI thinks highly enough of these policies to promote them, and we hope this joint release will serve to promote the cause of education reform in the states.

Monthly American Birthright Zoom Meeting

The Civics Alliance had its first monthly Zoom session devoted to social studies standards reform on Monday, September 19, at 2 pm Eastern Time; we will have our second one on Monday, October 17, at 2 pm Eastern Time. Please email randall@nas.org if you would like to join these monthly Zoom meetings.

Social Studies Standards Revision Schedule

2022/Current: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky (partial), Minnesota, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia

2023: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, Wyoming

2024: Alabama, Arizona, Montana, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Wisconsin

2025: Kentucky, Texas

2026: Colorado, Maryland, North Dakota, South Carolina

2027: Hawaii, Kansas

2029: Louisiana

2031: Illinois

No Revision Currently Scheduled: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri (but could change), New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington

Waiting Confirmation: District of Columbia (current process), North Carolina (2021)

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.

The current priority is states whose social studies standards reform process is ongoing or about to begin: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.

Call for New Civics Alliance State Affiliates

The Civics Alliance is building a network of state affiliates—groups dedicated to removing action civics in their state, whom we will list on our website. We now have seven affiliates, in Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, 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).

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

Public Action

We encourage Civics Alliance members 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.

Image: Kenny Eliason, Public Domain