The non-regulatory guidance for Title IV, Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 provides state and local educational agencies with information on the allowable use of federal funds. It is not legally binding, but it amounts to an unofficial endorsement by the Department of Education (ED)—no matter how much the agency denies it. And that unofficial endorsement is alarming. The guidance still provides a list of suggested resources that devote an unnecessary and inappropriate amount of attention to action civics, climate hysteria, social and emotional learning (SEL), and “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI).
Facing History and Ourselves is a global organization that helps educators prepare students to participate in civic life. They believe civic education is about confronting bias and teaching students how to participate in political protests. This is action civics at its finest, devoid of any real substantive classroom curricula. And the ED takes things one step further, pushing politicized scientific content on students.
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Project Learning Tree, for example, is an environmental education program that “provides students with the awareness, appreciation, skills, and commitment to address environmental issues.” Their instructional materials and lesson plans for grades K-12 align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and College, Career, and Civic Life Framework (C3), two sets of national academic standards that the National Association of Scholars (NAS) has argued are baseless, partisan, and lacking content and rigor. Lastly, Project Learning Tree says, “We are also helping to prepare a 21st century workforce faced with devising solutions to increasingly complex environmental issues, like climate change and energy.” Their agenda could not be more obvious; climate change is the accepted consensus, and educational content will not challenge it.
Then the ED Green Ribbon Schools initiative effectively incentivizes schools to showcase their commitment to combating climate change. It is a one-time federal recognition award that honors progress in three sustainability pillars: reducing environmental impact and costs, improving health and wellness, and advancing environmental and sustainability education. Meanwhile, the ED suggests little content in physics, chemistry, biology, earth and space sciences, and the history of science. And while NAS has long exposed poor academic standards, we have grown suspicious of SEL programs that seem to exacerbate an ideological agenda in American education. ED is all in on SEL—and SEL has been a central force in the emotionally charged politics of our time, as I recently told Jared Gould in his article on how the decline of logic in education has left public discourse dominated by feelings over reason.
The non-regulatory guidance suggests schools use federal money on materials from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Guide.. CASEL is the mothership of SEL, and from it, schools can sift through a plethora of SEL programs and pick as they choose. NAS has written that SEL and CASEL “promote highly politicized instruction … training students in political activism, implementing restorative disciplinary policies, and promoting politically charged curricula – all in the name of social and emotional wellbeing.” SEL is well worth investigating further because of the evidence NAS uncovered, but I digress.
Even though the Trump administration is trying to eradicate DEI, its ever-lingering presence persists. The non-regulatory guidance suggests schools use funds on the implementation of anti-hate programs or, rather, any program that promotes DEI. Some of these programs are available at StopBullying.gov or the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). PBIS “is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health … It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where everyone thrives.” Equity is one of its five key elements. The Center on PBIS website has a series of free resources educators can use “to co-create affirming, culturally supportive, and productive learning environments.” One resource includes lesson plans for discussing systemic racism, white privilege, and implicit bias. Another resource recommends districts and schools include the term “equity” in their mission statements but later admits, “[Mission statements] may not lead to true change by themselves, but they may serve as a focal point to enhance equity as a priority for all activities and systems within the school district.”
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The recommendations NAS sets forth in Waste Land: The Education Department’s Profligacy, Mediocrity, and Radicalism are clear: Remove all ED-recommended educational materials that one-sidedly promote action civics, climate hysteria, SEL, and DEI. These include, but are not limited to, the suggested resources listed in the non-regulatory guidance for Title IV, Part A. My hope is that Secretary McMahon and her team pay close attention to this minor, albeit no less significant, piece of education policy. The devil is in the details, always.
American students deserve an education grounded in truth and knowledge that prepares them for virtuous citizenship. They do not deserve to be the pawns of pedagogical theories or ideological trends.
Image: “Front facade of the U.S. Department of Education building in Washington D.C., featuring large, bold letters spelling out its name” by Andy Feliciotti on Unsplash
