News Topic

Action Alerts, Advocacy, AHA Announcements

Thematic

State & Local (US)

AHA Topics

K–12 Education, Social Studies Standards, Teaching & Learning

Geographic

United States

Dear Colleague,

Earlier this year, the AHA and our partners on the ground in Iowa forcefully opposed HF 2544, a social studies curriculum bill that threatened to disrupt the process for reviewing and revising state academic standards for K–12 students in history, social studies, and other disciplines. Thanks to overwhelming public opposition, HF 2544 failed to progress beyond the Senate Education Committee.

We therefore were appalled to learn that on April 16, with no advance warning and little time for debate, the legislature exploited a procedural loophole to resurrect a pared-down version of HF 2544. Not content to learn from their mistakes, proponents of radical revision waited until the waning hours of the legislative session and used an amendment to insert this language into another bill. The new law, HF 2545, is riddled with distortions and inaccuracies. It overrides Iowa’s mandated process for developing public school curricula, while imposing unprecedented restrictions on the content and structure of key courses in US and world history.

But there is still a chance to stop the bill from becoming law: Governor Kim Reynolds can veto it. Act now: write to Gov. Reynolds and urge her to veto HF 2545. She has a 30-day window to sign or veto legislation passed in the final three days of a general assembly session. You can contact the governor directly through this form, and are welcome to adapt the letter the AHA has submitted to the governor or craft your own.

Tell the governor that this bill would undermine the integrity of history and social studies education in Iowa’s public schools, and that her constituents stand strong in support of Iowa’s children receiving the best possible education. Please consider sharing your concerns about this bill with others in your community and across the state.

If you have any questions about this proposed legislation or would like to request updates about its status, please feel free to contact Brendan Gillis, director of teaching and learning at the AHA.

The AHA’s advocacy work at the state level is more critical and more vigorous now than ever before. If you believe in the importance of honest and professional history education, please donate to the AHA’s Advocacy Fund to support our advocacy work.

Sincerely,

James Grossman
Executive Director