The American Historical Association, the Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium, and the Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development “have collaborated to share their collective knowledge, experience, and expertise” to draft proposed history and social science standards for K–12 schools.
The American Historical Association has sent a letter to the Virginia Board of Education urging the board to proceed with adoption of the draft standards of learning for history and social science.
The AHA has sent a letter to the Nebraska Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee opposing LB 1077, which would restrict history education.
The AHA has sent letters to the Oklahoma House and Senate Education Committees and Senate Judiciary Committee opposing HB 2988, SB 1141, SB 803, and SB 1401, which would restrict history education.
The AHA has sent letters to the South Carolina House Education and Public Works Committee and Senate Education Committee opposing H 4799, H 4605, H 4392, H 4343, H 4325, and SB 0982, which would restrict history education.
The AHA has sent letters to the Alaska House and Senate Education Committees opposing HB 228, HB 330, HB 343, HB 391, and SB 196, which would restrict history education.
The AHA has sent letters to the Alabama House of Representatives and Senate opposing HB 312, HB 8, HB 9, and HB 11, as well as SB 292, SB 9, and SB 7, which would restrict history education.
The AHA has sent a letter to members of the West Virginia House of Delegates opposing Senate Bills 498, 45, 182, 558, 587, and 618 and House Bills 4011, 4016, and 2595, which would restrict history education.
The AHA has sent a letter to the Kentucky House of Representatives and Senate opposing SB 138, HB 14, and HB 18 , which would restrict history education.
The AHA has sent a letter to the Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee opposing the following House Bills before the committee: HB 1457, HB 1474, HB 1484, HB 1554, HB 1634, HB 1669, HB 1767, HB 1815, HB 1835, HB 2132, HB 2189, and HB 2428.
The AHA has sent letters to the Florida House of Representatives and Senate opposing HB 7, HB 57, and HB 1557 and SB 148, SB 242, and SB 1834, which would restrict history education.
The AHA has sent letters to the Georgia House of Representatives Education Committee and Senate Committee on Education and Youth opposing HB 1084 and SB 377, which would restrict history education.
The AHA sent a letter to leaders at the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District opposing the proposed Resolution No. 21-12, “Resolution Opposing the Teaching of Critical Race Theory.” “If the district is committed to academic freedom,” the AHA writes, “why has it singled out one set of ideas—critical race theory—as a subject that cannot be taught in Placentia-Yorba Linda schools?” The AHA hopes history teachers will not be required to minimize historical transgressions or their influence on the evolution of American institutions. “To do so would be a direct and clear violation of ‘the commitment to teach a complete and accurate account of history.’” The letter includes a statement criticizing similar legislative efforts to restrict education about racism in American history, co-authored by the AHA in June 2021 and signed by 152 organizations.
The AHA has sent a letter to members of the Oklahoma state legislature strongly opposing House Bill 2988, which would restrict the teaching of “certain concepts pertaining to America and slavery.” This “irresponsible legislation,” the AHA writes, would be “harmful to the youth of Oklahoma, leaving students ignorant of basic facts of American history and poorly prepared for the critical thinking and interpretive skills required for career and civic accomplishment.“
The AHA wrote to Texas governor Greg Abbott and the members of the state legislature to oppose SB 3 and HB 28, introduced during the Texas legislature’s special session. “This proposed legislation threatens the integrity of history education in Texas,” the AHA wrote. The AHA “urges the Texas legislature to reject these bills, both of which seek to indoctrinate students rather than help them learn the inquiry-based skills that will prepare them for their future civic and professional lives.” The letter cited a previous AHA letter to Governor Abbott and the Texas Senate in May, an AHA statement in July, and a joint statement in June addressing similar legislative efforts that “risk infringing on the right of faculty to teach and of students to learn.”
The AHA has issued a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine and the members of the Ohio state legislature registering “strong objection to Ohio HB 322 and HB 327, acts relating to the social studies curriculum in public schools.” These bills, wrote the AHA, are “a tangle of contradictory mandates” about how history can be taught and “part of a misguided, nationally coordinated attempt to put the government in classrooms at every level from kindergarten through high school—and in the case of HB 327, through higher education—to intimidate teachers, and to indoctrinate students rather than helping them learn the inquiry-based skills that will prepare them for their future civic and professional lives.”
In a statement on the recently-enacted Texas House Bill 3979, the American Historical Association “views with alarm several provisions” in the so-called “divisive concepts” legislation, including those affecting state institutions that present history to the public. “By hindering the professional development of public historians and restricting funding,” the AHA’s statement says, “this law would prevent state-owned agencies and facilities from presenting accurate views of Texas history, and would hobble fundraising efforts crucial to the vibrant state-sponsored public-history sector.“ The legislation “clearly violates” the AHA’s Standards for Museum Exhibits Dealing with Historical Subjects and “will adversely affect not only K–12 students, but all Texans and visitors who want to learn more about the state’s complicated past.” 28 organizations have signed onto this statement to date.
The American Association of University Professors, the American Historical Association, the Association of American Colleges & Universities, and PEN America have authored a joint statement stating their “firm opposition” to legislation, introduced in at least 20 states, that would restrict the discussion of “divisive concepts” in public education institutions. In total, 155 organizations have signed onto the statement.
In response to recent legislative efforts and existing anti-LGBTQ+ laws in several states, the AHA has released a statement opposing “efforts to restrict the teaching of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer history in elementary, middle, and high schools.” “The failure to teach LGBTQ+ history,” the statement argues, “distorts the historical record, harms LGBTQ+ students specifically, and prevents all students from receiving a complete education.” The AHA supports “expanding access to LGBTQ+-inclusive history curricula and greater protections for history teachers who include LGBTQ+ history in their classrooms.”
The National Coalition for History (NCH) has released a statement opposing the passage of so-called “divisive concepts” legislation currently under consideration in numerous state legislatures. NCH “deplores the intent of these bills to foment confusion and have a chilling effect on teachers,” the statement said. “We denounce such bills as thinly veiled attempts to place limits on a curriculum which fosters a comprehensive and critical look at our history from a variety of perspectives.” The NCH provides leadership in history-related advocacy. The AHA is a member of the Coalition, and AHA representatives serve on its executive committee.
The AHA has written a letter to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and the members of the Texas Senate registering strong objection to Texas House Bill 3979, urging them to “reject this misguided, harmful, and unnecessary piece of legislation.” The letter describes how the bill would likely endanger Advanced Placement and dual-enrollment programs in Texas public schools. “The actual purpose” of the bill, the AHA writes, “is about whitewashing American history, keeping to the margins (or excluding altogether) such central issues as slavery; forced removals of Native Americans; inequalities based on race, gender, or other characteristics; and other aspects of our past likely to inspire the vigorous discussion that characterizes a good history class. . . . To deny Texas students the opportunity to discuss these issues openly and freely is to deny them their rightful place as citizens of the United States, and of the world.”
The AHA has signed on to a Middle East Studies Association statement opposing a Florida bill (HB233), approved by both houses and awaiting the governor’s signature, that would allow “students to record in classrooms without the consent of their professors.” The bill would also mandate “the State Board of Education and the Board of Governors to conduct an assessment of the ‘intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity’ at every institution in the Florida College System.” The statement notes that the proposed law “constitutes a legislative intrusion that will have a chilling effect on the free exchange of opinions it claims to enhance” and would limit “students’ abilities to express their views freely in an open environment.”
The AHA has issued a statement condemning the report from "The President’s Advisory 1776 Commission.” “Written hastily in one month after two desultory and tendentious ‘hearings,’” the AHA writes, “without any consultation with professional historians of the United States, the report fails to engage a rich and vibrant body of scholarship that has evolved over the last seven decades.” 47 organizations have signed onto the statement.
