Georgia’s K-5 ‘Social Studies’ Curriculum Is A Trojan Horse For Leftism … Utah Lawmakers Pass Bill Banning DEI at Public Colleges …  Florida Public Colleges Barred from Using State and Federal Funds for DEI Programs … All this and more in the latest Resolute …

Circumspection is the Best Policy

The New York Times just published an exposé of the Claremont Institute, based (apparently) on a public records request. While nothing more than embarrassing candor was unearthed, this is a timely reminder that no email communication is entirely secure—and especially not those conducted on government—including university—email addresses.  Education reformers should keep in mind that prudence, as well as sincerity, dictates that one always corresponds via private email as if one were to be read by unknown millions in an exposé at the New York Times. 

Georgia’s K-5 ‘Social Studies’ Curriculum Is A Trojan Horse For Leftism

Mark Bauerlein’s timely article reminds us of the continuing danger of Educating for American Democracy, and of the role of federal grant money to forward the radicalization of America’s civics instruction. The National Endowment for the Humanities provides the money; Educating for American Democracy provides the radical program; and now the Georgia Council for the Social Studies, the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement, and Georgia’s Department of Education will work together to create action-civics model civics education on the ground. Thus the radical education establishment will surreptitiously transform Georgia’s education system, without the knowledge or the consent of Georgia’s citizens. The education establishment is a hydra: education reformers need to lop off a hundred heads, and then a hundred more.

Utah Lawmakers Pass Bill Banning DEI at Public Colleges

Utah seems about to ban DEI at its public universities. This is another bill that is weaker than it appears at first glance—clever university bureaucrats in Utah presumably already are working on ways to disguise their DEI programs. But even a law that can be evaded won’t always be evaded. University presidents sometimes can take a hint. Education reformers should take courage from Utah’s new law, and work ever harder to pass laws banning DEI in universities and CRT in K-12 schools—and work to make sure the laws are enforced once they are passed.

Florida Public Colleges Barred from Using State and Federal Funds for DEI Programs

Florida’s Board of Education has published a rule putting into effect the law passed by the Florida legislature—defund DEI now! This isn’t just follow-up news—it’s a reminder that laws need to be complemented by administrative rules and that education reformers must dot Is and cross Ts. Florida is inspirational not least because the state follows up its bold, well-publicized moves with the detail work necessary to put them into effect.

Teachers are Fed Up with No-Consequence Discipline

Our beat is civics education, but other aspects of the public K-12 schools matter a great deal. The collapse of public school discipline may matter most of all. Dispirited teachers flee the schools; education collapses—it’s difficult to learn to read, much less to learn civics, in anarchic classrooms. A tactical alliance on the issue of school discipline might be useful—but we encourage education reformers to work to restore school discipline, purely independently of their commitment to civics education reform.

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 are scheduled to be submitted to the State Board of Education and posted for public comment in March of 2024.
  • West Virginia: Social studies standards will be reviewed through January 2024, and presented to the State Board of Education in April 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, February 26, 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.

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