Blog

Your Education Road Map

Politics K-12

Politics K-12 kept watch on education policy and politics in the nation’s capital and in the states. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: Federal, States.

Federal

Fact Check: After Furor Over 1619 Project, Feds Adjust History and Civics Grant Plans

By Andrew Ujifusa — July 19, 2021 4 min read
Education secretary nominee Miguel Cardona speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on his nomination on Feb. 3, 2021, in Washington.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The U.S. Department of Education has backed off plans to prioritize projects funded by grants that focus on systemic bias and marginalization in history and civics instruction, following an uproar in the spring. But they haven’t signaled a total retreat. And what lessons observers should draw from the controversy over the small grant program are less than clear.

In Federal Register notices published Monday, the department said that it would invite grant proposals for the American History and Civics program “that reflect the diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students into teaching and learning,” but it would not give such proposals a competitive edge. The same goes for the department’s invitation for grants to “foster information literacy skills.”

That’s a departure from the department’s plans in April to prioritize those approaches when doling out grant money. Yet key elements of the agency’s philosophy about teaching history and civics survive in the new notice, and the department says the issues it highlighted four months ago remain important to the agency.

In Monday’s notices, the agency did not mention the 1619 Project, the New York Times Magazine series that put the legacy of slavery and racism at the heart of the American experience, and the self-described anti-racist writer Ibram X. Kendi. That marks a departure from the department’s original proposal, which included references to the 1619 Project and Kendi in its background material.

Such references did not in any way require those seeking the grant money to incorporate the 1619 Project or Kendi into their proposals. But the mention of them helped spark a backlash from conservative groups and politicians; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the top Republican in the Senate, denounced the proposal as “divisive nonsense.”

Conservatives hail the department’s shift as a victory. For example, Parents Defending Education, a group that helped coordinate thousands of comments opposed to the grant priorities, celebrated the news as a win.

The department’s preliminary plans from April did not mention critical race theory. Yet the proposed grant priorities also fed into the national political brawl over the academic concept that says racism is embedded in American policies and laws far beyond individuals’ prejudices.

As part of this backlash, 11 states this year as of mid-July had enacted bans on teaching critical race theory or restricted how schools address racism and sexism.

At least 4,600 of the public comments submitted to the department about the grant plans referenced critical race theory.

One theme of the comments critical of the department’s proposal was that it would create unnecessary division and indoctrinate students with harmful ideologies. Yet supporters said such approaches would help foster an accurate and inclusive understanding of American history. (The 1619 Project is the basis for a curriculum developed by the Pulitzer Center.)

Here’s more of what you need to know about this controversy

The grants, which involve a little more than $5 million this year, do not involve the creation of a curriculum endorsed by the department. By law, the federal government is prohibited from telling schools what curriculum to use or not use, a point the department stresses in Monday’s notice. The grants fund two distinct programs: academies for history and civics teachers, as well as “national activities.”

The shift by the department means that someone seeking the grant funding wouldn’t be any more or less likely to get an award by focusing on the priorities in question, and don’t have to include them.

In addition, the sheer volume of comments, not necessarily what the general tone of those comments are, appears to have played a key role in the department’s shift. In Monday’s notice, the agency says it is continuing to process and respond to the “significant number” of public comments about the grants.

“As a result, it is not possible to issue a notice of final priorities in time to use the priorities” to give certain applicants a competitive edge for fiscal 2021, the department’s notice says.

A federal website has logged more than 35,000 comments about the department’s proposal.

Despite dropping mentions of the 1619 Project and Kendi, it’s also clear the department’s overall view about what the grants should support hasn’t fundamentally changed.

For example, the April proposal for these grants highlights instructional approaches that “take into account systemic marginalization, biases, inequities, and discriminatory policy and practice in American history,” as well as those that “contribute to inclusive, supportive, and identity-safe learning environments.”

The Monday notice repeats that and other language verbatim from four months ago. Such language about systemic bias and identity-safe environments has helped fuel strife about how schools should approach classes about racism and sexism in America.

All that underscores the fact that while grant proposals stressing such approaches won’t officially get an edge in the process, they could still end up winning funding.

In a blog post from late last week at the department’s website, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona reiterated this philosophy with respect to the grants.

“The Department recognizes the value of supporting teaching and learning that reflects the rich diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students,” Cardona wrote. “As every parent knows, when students can make personal connections to their learning experiences, there are greater opportunities for them to stay engaged in their education and see pathways for their own futures.”

The department has yet to respond to a question by Education Week as to whether it would try to revive the proposed competitive priorities in some way for the grants in future years, when the agency might be better prepared for a high volume of public comments.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Politics K-12 blog.
A version of this article appeared in the August 18, 2021 edition of Education Week as Fact Check: After Furor Over 1619 Project, Feds Adjust History and Civics Grant Plans

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Making Science Stick: The Engaging Power of Hands-On Learning
How can you make science class the highlight of your students’ day while
achieving learning outcomes? Find out in this session.
Content provided by LEGO Education
Teaching Profession Webinar Key Insights to Elevate and Inspire Today’s Teachers
Join this free half day virtual event to energize your teaching and cultivate a positive learning experience for students.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Achievement Webinar
Student Success Strategies: Flexibility, Recovery & More
Join us for Student Success Strategies to explore flexibility, credit recovery & more. Learn how districts keep students on track.
Content provided by Pearson

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Trump Admin. Warns Schools: End Race-Based Programs or Risk Losing Funds
A sweeping new letter from the Education Department says schools and universities should stop using race as a factor in programming.
6 min read
budget school funding
iStock/Getty
Federal Trump Shakeup Stops Most Work at Education Department's Civil Rights Office
President Donald Trump is downsizing a federal office that he's also using to carry out his policy agenda for schools.
9 min read
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. The department's office for civil rights, which enforces federal civil rights laws in schools, has been hamstrung by the Trump administration's goal of shrinking the agency.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Trump’s 4th Week: Musk’s Team Pushes Ed. Dept. Cuts as McMahon Faces Senators
Linda McMahon appeared before U.S. senators, answering for an already turbulent time at the Education Department before she's taken charge.
6 min read
A shouting protester is removed from the hearing room as Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025. A shouting protester is removed from the hearing room as Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, February 13, 2025. (Graeme Sloan for Education Week)
A shouting protester is removed from the hearing room as Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal Trump Picks Long-Serving State Chief With Bipartisan Fans for Top Ed. Dept. Role
Trump nominated North Dakota State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler to a key post overseeing K-12 policy at the U.S. Department of Education.
5 min read
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D. President Donald Trump has tapped Baesler to serve as assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education.
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP