DES MOINES — A bill requiring Iowa schools to adopt new social studies and civics education standards with a focus on Western civilization, U.S. and Iowa history, and "civic virtues displayed in the lives of exemplary Americans“ is headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds to be signed into law.
House lawmakers on Wednesday passed an amended a bill that calls for the Iowa Department of Education director to conduct a review of Iowa school curriculum, education standards and high school graduation rates and give recommendations to the governor and Legislature.
Senate Republicans amended House File 2545, by inserting similar provisions included in a separate bill that passed the House in February but stalled in the Senate and failed to pass a legislative funnel deadline needed to advance.
House Republicans concurred with the Senate amendment and passed the bill on a 57-36 party-line vote, with Democrats opposed. The bill now heads to Reynolds for her signature.
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The original House bill would have required schools to teach a list of social studies concepts developed by a conservative think tank that focus on the “cultural heritage of Western civilization” and the United States’ “exceptional and praiseworthy history.”
The amendment passed by the Republican-controlled Iowa Senate includes language from House File 2544, which would have mandated Iowa K-12 schools teach students about the structure of the U.S. government, the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens, and a range of concepts, people and events in U.S. history, including the flag and national anthem, the country’s founding documents and “Admirable Americans,” including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Abraham Lincoln.
The language in the bill was modeled by the Civics Alliance, an offshoot of the conservative nonprofit education advocacy organization National Association of Scholars. The group advocates for a curriculum designed to emphasize conservative values, Western civilization and capitalism in civics education and push out instruction on critical race theory, diversity, equity and inclusion, and social justice.
WHAT WOULD STUDENTS BE TAUGHT?
The Senate amendment includes similar provisions, requiring that “exemplary figures and important events” from Western civilization and U.S. and Iowa history are covered, as well as the "federal and republican form of government“ in comparison to alternative forms of government, ”and the crimes against humanity that have occurred under communist regimes since 1917.”
It also would require history standards include the teaching of “secular and religious ideals and institutions of liberty, including political, religious, economic, social and cultural liberty in Western civilization, the United States, and the state of Iowa.”
The bill directs the Iowa Board of Education to conduct a review and revision of the state’s social studies standards to include these subjects for students in grades 1 through 12 in a relevant and age-appropriate manner. These standards would be adopted by Dec. 31, 2025.
Republicans said the bill was necessary to teach Iowa students about the high points of American history and the achievements of the country’s major historical figures, asserting students have a lack of understanding and appreciation of the nation’s founding principles, and address declining patriotism.
“We cannot and will not let our great American experiment fail,” said Rep. Steve Holt, a Republican from Denison. “And one of the ways we can do that is to ensure that our children are taught the blessings of liberty. ... I think it is past time to emphasize to our children American character and the founding values that built this country.”
Others pointed to movements to take down statues of historical Americans, including Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was a slaveholder, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States.
“Yes, he did bad things,” said Rep. Skyler Wheeler, a Republican from Hull and chair of the House Education Committee. “But, yes, there were things that he did that I don’t believe are always represented fairly. ... If you’re going to teach the history, you teach everything.”
DEMOCRAT: BILL A ‘WHITEWASHING’ OF U.S. HISTORY
Democrats in the Senate argued the bill was overly prescriptive of schools and ignores essential aspects of U.S. history, like slavery, the Jim Crow South and civil rights movement, Native American treatment and other historical injustices.
The bill does not require general instruction on the history of slavery in the U.S., but it does call for instruction on the Emancipation Proclamation.
“This Legislature has never put curriculum in the code, and it’s not the job of the Legislature to prescribe curriculum,” said Sen. Molly Donahue, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids who has worked for 33 years as a special-education teacher.
“Prescribing curriculum would limit teachers’ time and resources,” Donahue said. “It’s not age-appropriate or grade-appropriate, and it’s sourced out from a state conservative group called Civics Alliance, without proper input from Iowa educators, parents and school boards."
By limiting curriculum to focus on Western civilization, Donahue worried schools would forego instruction on all other cultural and historic figures throughout world history.
She asserted the bill amounts to indoctrination “based on Christian nationalist ideals” focused on “whitewashing history.”
Sen. Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, offered an amendment that would have changed references to “Western civilization” to “world civilization,” stressing the need for inclusive curriculum and a global education that understands and values diverse cultures and world economies beyond Western civilization.
REPUBLICANS: STUDENTS NEED TO BETTER LEARN OF U.S., IOWA HERITAGE
Wheeler, the Hull Republican and the bill’s floor manager, said the bill does not prohibit schools from teaching about non-Western civilizations or other pieces of world history.
“I am excited about the opportunity to review our standards and include things that I was never taught in school, such as the Korean War — things that some of our kids today are not being taught, such as the War on Terrorism,” he said.
“ … We are not writing curriculum. We’re simply saying, ‘You’re going to do a comprehensive review of our standard,’ which we haven’t done. You can’t argue that this a prescriptive. You certainly can’t argue that this is political.”
Sen. Sandy Salmon, a Republican from Janesville, said lawmakers are not saying students should not learn about other civilizations, “but they better understand what our heritage is, where we come from, so that they will be able to understand where we need to go.”
Sen. Jeff Taylor, R-Sioux Center, called Democrats’ criticisms “grossly unfair.” He said the focus on Western civilization is important because it is the foundational context of both American history and current culture, from its form of governance to the use of the English language.
Taylor said the broad language in the bill allows schools to teach a range of concepts, people and events in U.S. history, and are “ not ignoring the contributions of people who are Asian American and African American or Latin American.”
Wheeler added: “We want our students well-educated, and if you’re in America, you need to know our history and our heritage. You need to know Western civilization. ... They’re going to teach the good, the bad and the ugly. They’re going to teach from ancient Israel to 2024.”