Editor's Note: The following is an open letter to Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Representative Tom Cole (R-OK) regarding their support for the Civics Secures Democracy Act. The Civics Secures Democracy Act, despite claims to the contrary, is an effort to smuggle progressive action civics into American K-12 classrooms under the guise of bipartisanship.
Signatories sign as individuals. Organizational affiliations and positions are listed for identification purposes only.
To view our database of proposed American civics education legislation, click here. To view the National Association of Scholars' own model civics bills, click here. To join the Civics Alliance, click here.
Dear Senator Cornyn and Representative Cole,
We urge you to withdraw your support for the Civics Secures Democracy Act. Recent actions by the Biden Administration will prevent this legislation from supporting impartial civics education and will instead direct the funds it authorizes to subsidize ideologically partisan political activism. We believe you can best achieve your original aims to support impartial civics education by rescinding your support for this legislation.
We sympathize with your original desire to support civics education. America would indeed benefit from properly designed civics education, which teaches students to take pride in what they share as Americans—for example, an exceptional heritage of freedom, a republic that has made liberty a fundamental principle of our government, and the joyful accomplishments of their common national culture. We also support civics education that teaches the founding principles and documents of the United States, the key events of American history, the structure of our self-governing federal republic, and the spirit of liberty and tolerance that should animate our private interactions with our fellow citizens.
We also understand why you would have taken to be innocuous the precise language of several subsections of the Civics Secures Democracy Act, which, for example, prioritize funding for “media literacy,” “evidence-based practices,” and to “improve knowledge and engagement ... [among] traditionally underserved” students. Education professionals often use phrases such as these as code for support for Action Civics, which provides vocational training for ideologically partisan protest and lobbying, and for Critical Race Theory, which teaches students that America is a “systemically racist” country.
Yet the Civics Secures Democracy Act will forward Action Civics and Critical Race Theory. It will provide vast federal funding for this radical program and it will impose enormous political pressure on the states to do the same. Just as the Education Department’s Race to the Top Fund gave the cash-strapped states an irresistible incentive to adopt Common Core, and thereby imposed de facto federal control on state standards and curriculum, so the Civics Secures Democracy Act will give the federal government de facto power to impose Action Civics and Critical Race Theory on the states.
The Civics Secures Democracy Act would have produced this result, even absent the Biden Administration’s latest initiative.1 Yet the Biden Education Department’s Proposed Rule “Proposed Priorities-American History and Civics Education,” makes explicit this consequence.2 This rule, which will apply to all American History and Civics Education programs, will require programs funding applicants to satisfy a checklist of ideologically partisan priorities, including that they “Take into account systemic marginalization, biases, inequities, and discriminatory policy and practice in American history.” The Proposed Rule approvingly cites The New York Times’ 1619 Project, which has been widely criticized by thoughtful scholars as a polemic riddled with historical errors.3 The Biden administration’s proposed new rule also approvingly cites the so-called “antiracism” of Ibram X. Kendi, who writes that “The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”4 Kendi explicitly advocates discrimination by race, and supports changes to our constitutional republic hostile to our most basic liberties.5 These citations provide more than sufficient proof of how the Biden Administration will use any funds devoted to American History and Civics Education: to fund programs aligned with the historically inaccurate polemic of the 1619 Project and the overtly illiberal so-called “antiracism” of Kendi.
The Proposed Rule does more than reveal administrative language. It reveals the mindset and the intentions of the Education Department administrators who will oversee the programs authorized by the Civics Secures Democracy Act. These administrators have revealed that they prefer partisan and illiberal political activism to authentic civic education. These preferences will continue even if they modify the language of the Proposed Rule. They will administer the Civics Secure Democracy Act’s proposed programs to transform civics education into a vessel to secure these troubling ends. In short, the language of this bill cannot be “fixed.” So long as the Biden administration administers these funds, the bill will impose ideological partisanship and activism on America’s schools.
Other concerns weigh against passing the Civics Secures Democracy Act. As the history of Common Core illustrates, federal intervention and control have damaged American education nationwide. The states, the localities, and civil society are better equipped to determine education policy than the federal government. These levels of government and society, not the federal government, are best equipped to determine how to improve civics education. In this regard, it should be noted that the Act’s revisions of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) also threaten to provide a backdoor route to imposing a de facto national curriculum in history and civics.
Even if we set aside these concerns, the Biden Administration’s Proposed Rule by itself transforms the expected result of the Civics Secures Democracy Act. The Proposed Rule confirms that the Act will not achieve what you originally desired, support for civics education that teaches students to take pride in and to preserve their republic and its exceptional heritage of freedom. It will instead replace genuine civics education with partisan training in political activism.
The Biden Administration’s new Proposed Rule more than warrants a decision on your part to withdraw your support for the Civics Secures Democracy Act.
We write as citizens concerned about the state of education in history and civics, and as members of the Civics Alliance convened by the National Association of Scholars. We invite other members of the Civics Alliance, and other interested citizens, to join this letter as signatories.
Initial Signatories
Mark Bauerlein, Professor Emeritus of English, Emory University
Brandon Dutcher, Senior Vice President, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Frank Gaffney, Founder and Executive Chairman, Center for Security Policy
John Hinderaker, President, Center of the American Experiment
Sheryl Kaufman, Congressional Communications Director, Former Congressman Jim Bridenstine
Katherine Kersten, Senior Policy Fellow, Center of the American Experiment
Roger Kimball, Editor and Publisher, The New Criterion
Stanley Kurtz, Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center
Arthur Milikh, Executive Director, The Claremont Institute, Center for the American Way of Life
David Randall, Project Director, Civics Alliance
Jenna A. Robinson, President, James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal
Christopher Rufo, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute
Eunie Smith, President Emeritus, Eagle Forum
Ginni Thomas, President, Liberty Consulting
Ryan Williams, President, The Claremont Institute
Peter Wood, President, National Association of Scholars
Signatories
Carolee Abbott
Carolee Adams, President, Eagle Forum of New Jersey
Judie Adey
Cindy Afferica
William Albee
Stacy Alberts
Sue Alexander
George Allison
Amanda Alman
Elena Ancarrow, Retired School District Administrator
Hugh Anderson, Archivist, Texas Tech University
Margaret Annett
Tom Antram
Diane Apuan, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Rosana Arebalo
Hal Arkes, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Ohio State University
Dave Armstrong
Gayn Armstrong
Joni Aspengren, Educator/Speech/Language Pathologist (Retired)
David Bains, Mechanical Engineer
Tammy Ballard, Educator, Kentucky School System
John Ballinger
John Bandel, Owner, Bandel's Painting Service
Joe Barden
Ed Barron, Senior Vice President of Engineering
Terry Baugher
Karen Baunsgard
Elizabeth Bayless
Lori Bear
Asbed Bedikian
Gary Behler, Former Substitute Teacher
Michael Bender, Clinical Professor of Medicine Emeritus, UCSF
Suzanne Bennett, Teacher, Bartow County Schools
Caroline Beno, Elementary Teacher, Visalia Unified School District
Kathy Bergevin
Jane Berkowitz
Anne Bermudez
Katharine Bertetto
Michael Best
Susan Birchem, Office Administrator
Kelly Bishop, Educator
Marc Bishop
Michael Boatner
Pat Bole
Louis Bonham
Michael Bonnette
Debbra Bordeaux
Carole Bouska, Special Education Teacher (Retired), Harrisburg High School
Walter Bowen, Business Systems Analyst
Gary Boyd
Philip Boyer
Mike Bradford, Pastor
Carmen Bramlage
Charles Branch
Mark Branyon, Customer Service, James Avery Craftsman, Inc
William Brenan
Norman Brock
Ann Brooks
Shelley Broome, Counselor
Carol Brown
Loren Brown
Alexandra Bruckner
Susan Brummer
Bruce Brunner
Staci Buck, President, Entegra Enterprises
Donna Buddemeier
Christine Buer
Terri Burke
George Burns
Danielle Bushnell
Kathy Butke
Katie Butler
Cathryn Butzow, ESL Instructor (Retired)
Bruce Byron
Donna Cagle
Judy Cagle, Teacher/Counselor
Kim Cain
Maria Cairns
Bruce Caldwell, Research Professor of Economics, Duke University
Jennifer Cali
Bea Cannon
Robert Carey
Diane Carlin
CJ Carlso
Pat Carter, Teacher (Retired)
Carol Carvajal
Danny Catalanotto
Melissa Cayette
Londa Chandler
Alexei Chemiakine, Scientist, Columbia University Medical Center
Tonda Childers, Therapist
Pamela Christian, Author/Podcaster, Pamela Christian Ministries LLC
Stephanie Christie
Barbara Chu, Engineer (Retired)
Catherine Clark
Cheryl Clark
Jessica Cline, Teacher, Irving Independent School District
Russell Cline
Karla Clow
Kathy Coats
David Cocos
Karen Cohen
Claudia Colvin
Dennis Conlan
Diane Connelly
Judith Cook, Teacher (Retired)
Joshua Coots, Teacher, Duneland School Corporation
Susan Corbett, Former Teacher
Bill Covel
Erin Covert
Eric Cox
Shawnna Cox
Sue Crain
Mary Crawford
Joseph Cristel
Elsie Crossmon
John Cull
Ginna Cumley
Norman Cummings
Ralph Dahlstrom, Assistant Professor (Retired), University of Oklahoma Medical School
Madison Dallas
Sherri Dalton, Co-Director, Missio Global Ministries
Lisa Damico
Wanda Daniel
Ben Daniels
Rachel Davis
Jan Davisson
Sheryl Dawson
Karol Delmar
Marian DelMarmol
Lynne DeLorenzo
Ed DeLucie, Former Village Trustee, Valley Stream
Jill Dennis, Teacher (Retired)
Susan Dennison, Teacher (Retired)
Wesley Denton, COO, Conservative Partnership Institute
Nichole Derouin, Vice President, Derouin Heritage Academy
Faith DeWaay
Lynn Dexter
Elaine Dietrich
Michael Dinnin
Melody Divine, President, PIER Institute
Robert Dixon, Retired Military Officer
Jeanne Dobbins
Wayne Dodd
Kelly Dodge
SW Domagala
Catharine Domenick
June Donaghy
Hubert Dorn
Linda Dorn
Frank Drake
John Drew, Sales Manager
John Droz, Physicist, Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED)
Toni Drugmand
Belkis Dubman
Susan DuBose, President, Republican Women of North Shelby County
Susan Ducett
Angela Dudley, Teacher (Retired)
Barbara Dunlap
Bruce Dunn
Kay Dunn, Precinct Chair, Ellis County Republican Party, Texas
Margot Duvall
Steve Early
Mike Echt
Tammie Edwards
Doris Ehlenfeldt
Ann Ellison
Stefanie Eldridge
Beverly Emerson
Luke Emison
Phillip Ernest
Jacquelyn Etchison
David Evans, Professor, Dallas College
Susan Evans
Zack Ezer
Shirley Fairley
Amie Falch
Brian Fanelli
Adrian Farr, Texas Homeschool Coalition
Deborah Farr, Texas Homeschool Coalition
Heather Farrand, Registered Nurse
Scott Farray
Brenda Fassnacht, School Bus Driver, Tippecanoe School Corporation
Jerry Felte
Linda Fenster
Rachele Figlan
Jeffery Finley
Larry Finn
Ellen FitzGerald
Kevin Fitzgerald, Associate Professor, Michigan State College of Human Medicine
Will Fitzhugh, Founder, The Concord Review
Steve Flaig
Pam Flanders
Richard Flanders
Kathleen Flannagan
Brenda Flannigan
John Flenniken, Ministry Staff (Retired)
John Fonte, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
John Foster, Retired Army Officer
Nancy Foster
Stephen Foster
Raymond Fox, President, Fox and Fox LLC
Kathlene Francis, Nurse
Robert Frederick, Attorney (Retired)
Terry French
Donna Frye
Dorothy Furagganan
Sheryl Gadbois
David Gardner, Purchasing Agent (Retired)
Janet Gardner, Nurse (Retired)
Randy Garlough
Brad Garrett
Carol Garrott
Charles Giammalva
Faithe Giaquinto, Office Administrator, Teacher, Realty World DeSoto Trail
Judith Gibbs, President/Editor, Bread Ministries
Fawn Gibson
Gene Giegerich
Wanda Giesecke
Jan Gillisse
Aaron Goetz
Richard Goldsborough
David Goldstein
David Goodman
Torey Goodson
John Gordon
Robbie Gore
Sherry Graf
Ruth Grant
Michael Greco
John Gretz
Gary Grimes, Engineer (Retired)
Alison Gromer
Virginia Gudermuth
Curtis Guhl, Engineer
Billie Hahn
Janet Halbert, College English Teacher (Retired)
Barbara Hale
Jean Hale, Teacher, Northshore Christian Academy
Mary Ellen Hale
Mary Hamilton
Daniel Hammond, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Wake Forest University
Warren Hansen
Sharon Hanson
Katherine Harding
Katherine Harms, Technical Consultant (Retired), Zion Lutheran Church
Robin Harrison, Owner, Design Solutions DFW
Stan Hartzler, Professor/Teacher (Retired)
Janet Hawkins
Roger Head
Jack Heald, Doctor
Helen Hebert
Linda Heifner
Sharon Helms-Dulin
Amy Henry
Suzanne Herster
Victor Hidalgo-Veras
Trisha Hicks
Roy Hight
Cora Hill, School Teacher (Retired)
Krista Hilley
Damon Hines, Police Officer
Janyce Hockenbaryy
Ellen Hoffman
Michael Hoke
Blanca Holland, Medical Admit Counselor (Retired)
Elizabeth Holmes
Carolyn Homan
Richard Homan, Turning Point USA
Paula Hoskins
Mary Houlihan
Nancy Huff, President, Teach the Children International
Karl Hutzelman
Deb Ibanez
Annie Isbelle, Teacher (Retired)
Brenda Jackson
Kenneth Jacobs
Frank Jaeckle, Former Teacher
Doug Jakubowski
David Jaissle
Shelly Jay
Louis Jeffrey
Maj Jenkins
Gaylin Jepsen
Barbara Johnson
Brenda Johnson
Erik Johnson
Monica Johnson
Robert Johnson
John Jones
Robert Jones
Sonya Jones
Steven Jones, Former Irving Independent School Board President
Velmer Jones
Claude Judd, Owner, Texas Insurance Exchange
Dave Kallas
Jane Kampsnider
Dennis Kaptain, Software Engineer
Roy Kaufmann
John Keen, Former School Board Member, RBHS Riverside Illinois
Sherry Keil
William Kellar, Professor (Retired), University of Houston
Diane Kelley
Muriel Kemp
Karen Kendrick
Marilyn Kent
Diane Kern
Deborah Keys, Vice Principal, AVHS
Michael Keys, Pastor
Dennis King, Attorney
Lynda King
Sharon King
Ed King
Kathleen Kinney
Adam Kissel, Senior Fellow, Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy
Kurt Klemm
Sandra Klimczak-Ohm
Janet Klumb
Darrin Kneute
Carol Knipper
Marilyn Knopp
Don Koonce, Storyteller, American Stories Inc
Steve Korson, Engineer
Robert Krapohl, Library Director and Adjunct Instructor, Lyon College
Barbara Krebs
William Kuechler, Professor Emeritus
Stacy Middleton
John Lacue
Ernie Lafferty
Kathleen LaFountain
Laurel La Framboise
Teresa Laing
Rodney LaJoie
Stacy Lambert
Marti Landman
Jerilyn Lange
Vickie Lanich, CEO, Export Compliance Connections, LLC
David Larimer
Andrea Leffew
Linda Leppi
Jon Le Sage
Judy Lester
Cindy Levenburg, Licensed Practical Nurse
Victoria Lewis
Tana Lievsay
Donna Lightcap
Mack Lindsey
Beth Lloyd, Law Enforcement Officer (Retired)
Janet Loizeaux
Jamie Loker
Isaac Long, District Operations Manager, Alpha Pack Militia
Jon Longerbone, Attorney (Retired)
Sheryl Longin, CEO, Diplomatch
Michael Looney, Retired Tax Lawyer/Accountant
Ellen Lopez
Kelly Loukides
Pauline Lovell
Mike Lowry, Owner, Lowry Properties, Inc.
Christine Luskin
Tresa Lykou
Elizabeth Lynch
Janet Mabry
Kelly Mactiernan
Joseph Madsen
Peggy Magers
Rose Maierle
Marie Martin
James Malone
Jean Mann
Shirley Mansfield
Joy Marion, Special Education Teacher, Vineland Public Schools
Ben Markley, Pastor, Lakeside Baptist Church
Diane Martin
Marie Martin, Environmental Specialist
Tom Martin
Mary Ann Martino
David Mash, Associate Director of Library Services, Instructor of Religion and Humanities, Lander University
Ronald D. Maszk Jr.
Kenneth Mateas
Rosemary Mathern
Jan Matsumoto
Mikaela Matthews
Stephen McCants
Shelly McGough
Carrie McKeehan, Teacher
Tammie McKenzie
David McNeil
Sharon McNutt
Kathleen McOsker
Carolyn Miller
Karen Miller
Madonna Miller, Registered Nurse
Rocky Miller
Elaine Milner
Teresa Minnick
Kevin Moore, Former Instructor, TCU
Linda Morris
Merle Morris, Attorney
Tim Morris
Barbara Morse, Teacher and Bible Translator (Retired)
Tim Morse
Margie Mortenson
Terry Mortenson
Diane Morton
David Moser
Cherie Mosher, Teacher (Retired)
Paul Mosher, System Analyst
Ann Moss
Bob Mowbray
Mary Lu Moyen
Bob Murphy, Engineer
Maria Murphy
Sheryl Myers
Nikki Naparst
Kimberlee Neel, Educational Administrator, Festus R-VI School District
Barbara Nelson, Attorney
Matthew Niemiera, President, Lonestar Rehabilitation
Robert Noble, Dorseyville Alliance Church
Karl Noell, Emeritus Clinical Associate Professor, Radiation Oncology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans
Linda Nolen
Kathleen Norris
Timothy O'Flaherty, School Teacher
Jeff O'Grady
Steve Olson, Adjunct Instructor, Aims Community College
Dawn Orand
Juan Ordonez
Paula Ourso, Teacher
Gary Owen
Loretta Paradise
Marlene Parker, Teacher (Retired)
Lynn Parks, Pastor, Eastwood Baptist Church
Nancy Parsons
Jeremy Pate
Brenda Peck
Adir Peretz
Ronald Perkins
James Perlstein, JKP LLC
Martin Pfister
Lois Phlegar, Teacher, JCA
Jason Poe, Financial Advisor, Raymond James Financial Services
Franklin Pohle
Kimberly Powell, Registered Nurse
Robert Powers
Laura Price
Michele Procko
Paul Quintero
Rachel R
Kelii Rain
Diane Ramey
Margo Rasmussen
Ken Rebar
Rudolph Redden
Elnora Redgrave
Bobbie Rench, Accountant (Retired)
Otmar Renken
Suzanne Rhea
Don Rhudy, Doctor of Psychology and Counseling, Incarnate Word Hospital System (Retired) and Private Practice
Craig Rhyne, President, Freedom Education Foundation, Inc.
Jeff Rice
Melanie Richards
Jacob Richardson
Peter Richardson, ELA Teacher
Ron Richardson
John Riggs
Merline Riggs
Lloyd Rigney
Sue Rikli, Teacher (Retired)
Doug Ripperger
Clare Risky
Bill Roach, Educator
Lori Robb
Reid Roberts
Steven Roberts
Dennis Rohrbaugh
Dan Ross
Guy Rounsaville
Tommy Rowe
Patricia Ruser
Gail Russ, Teacher (Retired)
Tricia Russell, VP, CM Architect
Wayne Russell, Principal, The Paladin Group
John S
Christian Salmon
Sue Sanford
Danna Sapp
Teri Sasseville
Dan Savage
Debra Scott
Melba See
Kathy Sengel
Susan Sexton
Tonya Scarbro, Teacher
Peggy Schmid, Former Public School Teacher, Former Assistant Dean, University of Southern California
Pam Shaker, Nurse
Debra Shay, Teacher (Retired)
Jeremiah Sheeder
LuAnn Sheeder
Jacquelyn Shepherd, Admin. Assistant, LSC
Marilyn Shinn
Sean Showalter
Judith Shults
Karen Siegemund, President, American Freedom Alliance
Mark Silbert
Joseph P. Skaff
Steve Skinner, Engineer
Melinda Smith, Music Teacher (Retired)
Zach Slade
Danny Slawson
Cory Smith
Judy Smith
Pat Spaziani
Diane Speights
Paul Stackpole
Whitney Stanbury
Sheila Steck, Teacher (Retired)
Susan Steen
Marleena Stein
William Stevens
James Stewart
Robert Stock
James Stojek
Cathy Stroud, Teacher (Retired)
Donald Sumners
Michaela Sweatt
James Sykes
Jo Anne Szczyglowski, Retired Teacher
Stephen Takacs, US Navy Retired
David Tambornino
Ellyn Tervo
Betty Thomas, Caregiver
Mi Thomas
Jeanette Thompson, Teacher (Retired)
Sue Thompson
Susan Thornton, Congregational Christian Minister, Chiltonville Congregational Church Plymouth MA
Belinda Timpke
Lewis Toland, English Professor Emeritus, NMMI
Nan Tompkins
Michael Trent
Ellen Turnamian
Valerie Turney
Sally Tyree-Brumley
Sandra Van Brunt
Michael VanOrsdale, Music Industry Executive (Retired)
Joy Van Schepen
James Varney
Teresa Vaughters
Robin Veldboom
Sandy Vickers
Donna Voivedich-Burrage
Gwen Vroman
Jesse Waddell
Scott Wagner
Wayne Wakefield, Museum Specialist
Janie Walker
Shannon Walker
Bonnie Wallace
Jonathan Ward
Spencer Warren
Barbara Warrington
Sylvia Wasson, Professor Emeritus, Santa Rosa Junior College
Ann Watson
Laura-Jean Watson
William Webb
Gail Wells
Priscilla West
Kenneth Whaley
Ryan Wheeler
Debra Whipple
Keith Whitaker, Chairman, National Association of Scholars
David White, Past Chairman, Kay County Republican Party, Oklahoma
Margaret White, Teacher (Retired)
Mark White
Susan Wielins
Jim Windham, Publisher, The Texas Pilgrim
Alan Wiggins
Carolyn Wiggins
Esmeralda Winchell
John Wilcox
Kathryn Wilcox
Mary Frances Williams, Independent Scholar
Patricia Williams
Terri Willeford, Teacher (Retired), NEISD San Antonio
Deborah Williams
Kellie Williams
Dean Williamson, Research Economist, Antitrust Division, US Department of Justice
Gray-Leigh Wilson
J.R. Wilson, Co-Founder, Truth in American Education
Mike Wilson, CEO, Cowboy Electrical Services Inc.
Jim Windham
Sue Winfree
Richard Woodcock
Karen Woods, Teacher (Retired)
Audrey Wren
Larry Wright
Margaret Wysocki
John Yocum, Pastor, Through the Next Gate
Joy Zagarella
Sam Zahran, English Instructor, Fayetteville Technical Community College, North Carolina
David Ziegler
Image: United States Senate, United States Congress, Public Domain
