In March, there was a major update on our lawsuit to restore grants canceled by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). On March 6, the AHA and our co-plaintiffs, the American Council of Learned Societies and the Modern Language Association, filed a motion for summary judgment. Depositions and records obtained through the discovery process detail the role of DOGE staff in canceling humanities grants and how both the equal protections guaranteed in the Fifth Amendment and the Federal Records Act were violated in the process. These findings, described in more detail on our website and in a joint press release with our co-plaintiffs, underscore why this case matters not only for historians and educators but also for documenting this moment for the historical record and for the future of public support for the humanities.
On March 7, New York Times reporter Jennifer Schuessler covered newly released discovery materials in the case, which reveals how humanities grants were canceled during efforts to dismantle the agency.
On April 6, the AHA filed a lawsuit in collaboration with American Oversight challenging a memorandum from the Department of Justice declaring the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional, which would potentially block public access to hundreds of millions of records and present serious risk to transparency and recordkeeping throughout the executive branch.
Additionally, this winter and spring the AHA took a variety of actions to support historians and historical studies, including joining two new coalitions, expanding our advocacy capacity. The Alliance for Higher Education seeks to protect academic freedom in colleges and universities and promote higher education as an essential pillar of a democratic society. The National Parks Cultural Resource Coalition, led by the National Parks Conservation Association, aims to protect and preserve history in the nation’s national parks.
At the state level, we responded to proposed changes to state social studies standards and assessments in Texas, Virginia, and Oklahoma. We also sent a letter to members of Tennessee’s Senate Education Committee registering concerns with a proposed bill requiring instruction on the history of communism in public K–12 classrooms. We sent a letter to the governor of Oklahoma urging him to rescind an executive order calling on the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE) to gut tenure protections for faculty in the state’s public colleges and universities, sent a letter to the governor of Kentucky urging him to veto a bill that would gut tenure protections, and signed on to a letter to OSRHE to reject the measures called for in the governor’s order.
At the federal level, we submitted an amicus brief in support of Harvard University’s lawsuit against the federal government over the latter’s attempt to prevent the institution from hosting foreign scholars and students. We endorsed a congressional resolution supporting Black history museums and cultural institutions, participated in the launch event for the National Parks Cultural Resource Coalition, and participated in an advocacy day urging members of Congress to support the humanities.
AHA Staff and Members Speak Out to Improve Texas State Standards
On November 19, AHA senior program analyst Julia Brookins and member Steven Mintz testified in public comments to the Texas State Board of Education sharing their concerns about ongoing revisions to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills social studies standards. Quoted in the Dallas Morning News, Brookins said, “The last big question today is, what is worth knowing? There is a real opportunity here to support social studies instruction that opens up worlds of learning to Texas students.” Mintz criticized the new course sequence approved in September as “imbalanced,” stating, “This is an abomination of history, if we want to prepare students.” AHA member Yolanda Leyva was named to the panel of content advisers supporting the standards revision. “I’m hopeful that when we talk about people fighting for freedom, we include people of color, because people of color have been fighting for the US to live up to its equality and liberty ideals,” Leyva told the Morning News.
Brookins testified again before the Texas Education Agency on February 25; a video is available on the AHA’s YouTube channel.
AHA and Virginia Partners Call for Pause in Changes to Commonwealth Social Studies Assessments
On December 10, the AHA, National Council for the Social Studies, Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium, and Virginia Council for the Social Studies sent a joint letter to the members of the Virginia Board of Education and the superintendent of public instruction urging them to pause proposed amendments to Virginia’s ESSA Consolidated State Plan related to history and social science. They called on the board to allow adequate time for a deliberate and inclusive process that involves educational experts and stakeholders across the commonwealth. The letter reads, “Sweeping changes to accountability and assessment must not be rushed forward without transparent public review and meaningful professional consultation.”
AHA Files Amicus Brief in Support of Foreign Scholars
On December 22, the AHA, in collaboration with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, filed an amicus brief in support of Harvard University’s lawsuit against the federal government over the university’s ability to host foreign scholars and students. Seventeen other scholarly humanities organizations joined the AHA on the brief.
The brief conveys the importance of international scholars and students to American higher education, with a focus on the historical discipline, and the benefits and opportunities they bring to the United States. In support of Harvard’s case, the brief explains that using visa revocations and the like as a means to stifle political speech is a violation of the First Amendment. These actions “threaten the tremendous contributions of foreign-born historians and other foreign scholars and students.”
AHA Signs On to Letter in Defense of Academic Freedom at Texas A&M University
On February 10, the AHA signed on to a letter by PEN America calling on Texas A&M University to rescind new policies that have censored course content and resulted in major revisions of course syllabi, cancellation of certain classes, and the closure of the university’s Women’s and Gender Studies program, through which history courses are cross-listed. “These policies limit students’ access to course content related to race, gender, and sexual orientation, and constrain professors’ ability to teach effectively by prohibiting instruction responsive to class discussions or current events,” the letter reads. “Robust commitments to academic freedom ensure faculty can teach freely and without fear of retaliation in their areas of expertise, including on topics related to race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”
AHA Urges Recission of Oklahoma Executive Order Targeting Tenure Protections
On February 17, the AHA sent a letter to Governor Kevin Stitt urging him to rescind an executive order encouraging the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to gut existing tenure protections at state research universities and eliminate tenure outright at regional universities and community colleges. “If adopted,” the letter reads, “these changes will undermine the quality of higher education at Oklahoma’s world-class public institutions, stifling innovation, narrowing opportunities for student learning, and producing less employable college graduates.”
On February 20, the AHA joined a letter from the Alliance for Higher Education to the OSRHE in response to Governor Stitt’s executive order. The alliance’s letter corrects misconceptions about tenure and defends its importance for academic freedom: “Executive Order 2026-07 calls for academic excellence while it seeks to limit the very pillars that allow knowledge generation, innovation, and competitiveness to thrive: the freedom to explore controversial ideas and cutting-edge research without the fear of dismissal based on political and institutional whims.”
AHA Responds to Revised Oklahoma Social Studies Standards
On February 18, the AHA submitted comments responding to the newly revised Oklahoma social studies standards released on January 29. This was after the Oklahoma State Supreme Court set aside the 2025 standards draft, approved in April, in response to a suit brought by parents of Oklahoma students. The AHA also sent an action alert to members in Oklahoma encouraging them to submit comments of their own.
AHA Registers Concerns with Tennessee History of Communism Education Bill
On February 24, the AHA sent a letter to the members of Tennessee’s Senate Education Committee registering serious concerns about pending legislation that would require instruction on the history of communism in public K–12 schools. “This bill offers a highly politicized version of Cold War and modern American history that is based on a misleading interpretation of the American past,” the letter reads. “This is not good history. It will not provide a strong foundation for student learning.”
AHA Endorses Congressional Resolution in Support of Black History Museums and Cultural Institutions
The AHA endorsed a resolution introduced by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) on February 26 recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black history museums and cultural institutions. The resolution recognizes Black history museums and cultural institutions are essential to fulfilling the United States’ founding promises and telling the full, accurate history of our nation; calls on relevant federal agencies to ensure strong support for Black museums and cultural institutions in their funding and partnership programs; and calls on the people of the United States to engage with Black history museums and cultural institutions and to confront efforts to erase or distort Black history. The resolution also emphasizes the importance and centrality of Black history within American history, and calls for partnership with Black history museums and cultural institutions in the American Semiquincentennial celebrations.
In endorsing the resolution, AHA executive director Sarah Weicksel said, “The Black history museums and cultural institutions supported by this resolution are essential to telling the full story of our nation’s past. As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, we must acknowledge that Black historical experiences belong in all institutions where United States history is presented and interpreted—from our museums to our parks to our schools.”
AHA Amplifies Public Comment Request on NAEP Civics Assessment
On March 4, the AHA sent an action alert calling on members to submit comments to the National Assessment Governing Board as they sought public comments to prepare for a potential update of the National Assessment of Educational Progress Civics Assessment Framework. The initial gathering of public comment was the first stage in a comprehensive multiyear process that, if the board decides framework revisions are needed, will later involve multiple iterations of stakeholder feedback and an expert panel to guide the development of assessment questions and recommendations for contextual questionnaires administered to students, teachers, and schools.
AHA Executive Director Speaks at Launch for National Parks Cultural Resource Coalition
The AHA is a member of the recently established National Parks Cultural Resource Coalition, which held its official kickoff event on March 5 at the US Capitol. Weicksel spoke at the introductory press conference alongside two US senators and three US representatives as well as leaders from other coalition member organizations, and she served as a panelist on the America 250 and Beyond panel.
AHA Staff Participate in National Humanities Alliance Advocacy Day
On March 9, Weicksel, director of communications and public affairs Alexandra Levy, and public affairs associate Ben Rosenbaum participated in the National Humanities Alliance annual meeting, with Weicksel serving on a panel on how to advocate for the National Archives on Capitol Hill. On March 10, Weicksel, Levy, and Rosenbaum joined state delegations advocating in congressional offices for robust funding for the humanities in agencies and programs including the NEH, the National Archives, Title VI and Fulbright–Hays international education programs, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the National Park Service.
AHA Sends Action Alert Opposing “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act”
On March 26, the AHA sent out an action alert calling on Ohio residents to oppose Ohio House Bill 486, the “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act,” which would codify a distorted interpretation of American religious history as part of the legal framework governing public education in Ohio.
AHA Sends Action Alert Opposing Alabama Ten Commandments Bill
On March 30, the AHA sent out an action alert calling on Alabama residents to oppose legislation requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public school history classrooms while promoting a misleading account of American religious history.
AHA Opposes Proposed Bill Attacking Tenure in Kentucky
On April 2, the AHA sent a letter to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear urging him to veto House Bill 490, which would effectively gut tenure protections in the state, threatening the academic quality and institutional independence that foster innovation at Kentucky’s world-class public institutions. “Weakening tenure will not make public higher education any more efficient or affordable. Faculty pay is not responsible for budgetary woes at colleges and universities,” the letter states. “Attacks on tenure erode the value of public higher education and severely reduce the return on investment for both public funds and tuition dollars.”
AHA Files Lawsuit to Defend the Presidential Records Act
On April 6, the AHA, in collaboration with American Oversight, filed a lawsuit challenging a recent memorandum from the Department of Justice that declared the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional. “This case is about the preservation of records that document our nation’s history, and whether the American people are able to access and learn from that history,” the lawsuit begins. The memo advised the White House that the records of official activities of the president and White House staff were the personal property of the president and not the American people. This would potentially block public access to hundreds of millions of records and present serious risk to transparency and recordkeeping throughout the executive branch.
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