Citizens have little know knowledge of how the American government works. Because of the lack of civics and history classes in public schools,  Americans often do not appreciate the genius of our founding fathers in creating this nation. Many concerned about the void of accurate civics classes have sounded an alarm that our nation was in trouble. In 2016, an Annenberg Public Policy Center survey found that 74 percent of Americans could not name all three branches of government. Since that time, our state governments, which have jurisdiction over education in their respective states, have done little to help. Now the federal government is seizing the opportunity to introduce a federal curriculum for history based on Critical Race Theory (CRT) and civics based on political activism. What is worse than lack of information about our history? The wrong information sold with conviction.

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Currently, two bills that boast bipartisan support have been introduced into Congress.

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November 30, 2020, Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) co-sponsored a bill in the Senate, Educating for Democracy Act. The bill would invest $1B annually for six years in grants for states, non-profits, institutions of higher educations, and researchers to write curriculum for civics and history for our public schools.

March 11, 2021, a House of Representatives companion bill, Civics Secures Democracy Act of 2021, was introduced with the bipartisan support of Representatives Tom Cole (R-OK) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).

For those who were pleased when President Trump created the 1776 Commission to advise him on how America’s founding story should be told, the two current bills will be disappointing. The new history curricula emphasize CRT. Action Civics, as it is called, teaches student advocacy and little of the workings of our government. All outrage and action, no truth and substance.

The outlook for our students and our nation could not look more daunting as the Biden Department of Education (DOEd), under Secretary Miguel Cardona and his team of left-leaning bureaucrats, will process the grant applications and will look for grants that “close gaps in knowledge and achievement among students of different income levels, racial and ethnic groups, and native languages.” And will “improve knowledge and engagement for traditionally underserved students”– all educational jargon for CRT. The Action Civics will prioritize grants that give students advocacy projects like Black Lives Matter demonstrations and activism engagement. We know the politics behind that organization.

May 5, 2021, Representative Cole, a former history teacher, probed Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on the criteria for grant applicants, said civics education, in my view, ought to heal what divides our country, and this proposal, in my view, exacerbates that.

The Biden administration and the DOEd have assured the public that the history and civics programs will not be federally mandated. However, the bills themselves have listed a clandestine way the programs would pressure states to self-impose a federal mandate. Each bill includes a testing component administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This national test assesses how states are doing on teaching basic knowledge and skills. This information becomes public knowledge and available for scrutiny. Also, future grants to states could depend not just on how well their students did on the history and civics portions of the NAEP, but also on the state’s willingness to participate in the testing process. In a roundabout way, the federal government certainly IS mandating this approach to civics and history.

In the beginning, Senator John Cornyn, and Representative Tom Cole, as conservatives and co-sponsors of the bills, may not have been aware of the DOEd’s intent to approve only left-leaning grants. At his point, they know that is the case, and they should realize that new curricula will not be good for America’s future. Will that be enough to cause them to withdraw their support from the Civics Secures Act and the Educating for Democracy Act?

What can you do to stop this from happening?

Sign a petition presented by the National Association of Scholars requesting Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Representative Tom Cole (R-OK) withdraw their support for the Civics Secures Democracy Act. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky sent Mr. Cardova a letter signed by 39 Republican senators stating that the history and civics education would lead our nation toward a politicized and divisive agenda.

It is imperative that those concerned act as quickly as possible. Both the Civics Secures Democracy Act and the Educating for Democracy Act are waiting for C ongress to vote. There is no time to waste – pray and act today.

Join author Nancy Huff to pray about education in America and cry out for our nation’s children. Participate live at 12:15 pm ET, Tuesday, May 25 at IFApray.org/live or watch anytime on our YouTube channel.

About the Author: Nancy Huff is an educator with a mission to equip believers to pray strategically for the Cultural Mountain of Education. She has authored Taking the Mountain of Education: A Strategic Prayer Guide to Transform America’s Schools. She leads prayer groups to pray at key educational locations across the US. Currently, Nancy serves as the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (HAPN) Lead Prayer Coordinator for the Mountain of Education. For additional information, go to: https://takingthemountainofeducation.com/author/nancyahuff/ (Photo Credit: Unsplash.)