The Oklahoman: Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole slams Biden administration 'priorities' on civics, history education

The Oklahoman - Chris Casteel

Rep. Tom Cole pressed the U.S. education secretary on Wednesday about civics and history curriculum, saying the Education Department's recent request for public comments elicited a "blizzard" of bipartisan criticism over the focus on race and discrimination.

"Civics education, in my view, ought to heal what divides our country and this proposal, in my view, exacerbates that," Cole, R-Moore, told Education Secretary Miguel Cardona during a hearing on the department's budget.

Cole, a former history teacher, said controversy over the department's priorities for civics and history curriculum grants also threatened legislation he has cosponsored to expand access to those subjects in schools and universities.

U.S. Education Department not seeking a national curriculum

Cardona said his department was not seeking to mandate national curriculum content.

He told Cole, "It's critically important that educators have a voice in developing curriculum because we know that curriculum should serve as a window, a mirror and a sliding door into their own experiences and other experiences. … Students should always see themselves in curriculum as well.

"So I welcome seeing states come up with creative ideas on how to have students be seen in their curriculum but do so in a manner that builds community. Educators can do that."

The Education Department last month listed an item in the Federal Register proposing priorities for American history and civics education programs. Under one priority, applicants for grants would propose projects that "incorporate teaching and learning practices that reflect the diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students" and "create inclusive, supportive, and identity-safe learning environments."

Applicants would need to describe how they would incorporate the teaching of "systemic marginalization, biases, inequities, and discriminatory policy and practice in American history" and "racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse perspectives and perspectives on the experience of individuals with disabilities."

Controversy over the proposed priorities comes as Gov. Kevin Stitt is set to take action on a bill that would prohibit teaching certain concepts of race and racism in public schools.

'Politicized civics education'

In the congressional hearing on Thursday, Cole said the Federal Register notice about civics and history priorities led to a bipartisan "blizzard" of critical response in his district.

Cole said he was concerned that the notice mentions the "1619 Project," a package of stories in the New York Times Magazine in 2019 that, according to the paper, sought to "reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States' national narrative."

Cole said the Education Department's reference to the New York Times project "politicized civics education, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and created an impression that the administration can't be trusted to promote civics education in a bipartisan, non-ideological way."

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, sent Cardona a letter last week signed by 39 Republican senators complaining that the Education Department's proposed priorities would drive federal history and civics education programs toward a "politicized and divisive agenda."

Goal of education initiative is to highlight diverse cultures

Cardona stressed that the goal was to highlight the contributions of diverse cultures to American history and that students and their families were ready for it.

"I reject the belief that by doing this, we're dividing," he said during the hearing. "In fact, I think those who think that don't really understand what happens in our classrooms and the roles of our educators to bring students from different cultures together, learning together."

Cole is the co-author of a bipartisan bill that would create new grants and other incentives to states and universities to teach civics and history. Cole said opposition had arisen to the bill primarily because of the Education Department's initiative, which is unrelated to the legislation.

In a statement after the hearing, Cole said Cardona's answers regarding the Education Department's priorities for civics and history education were both contradictory and unclear, especially when he stated that the Department cannot mandate curriculum but then admitted it could issue certain priorities it wants grantees to include in applications for these programs.