American Birthright Standards - REJECTED by Colorado Board of Education in 2022
Pro-CO Education Project Supports the Colorado Academic Standards for Social Studies, 2022
The Colorado Social Studies Academic Standards, Approved November 2022, were the result of a collaborative effort involving people from Colorado, who contributed an unprecedented combination of professional expertise, diverse lived life experiences, and a combination of rural, suburban and metropolitan perspectives from around the State.
The Pro-CO Education Project strongly encourages our members and fellow Coloradoans to follow the Standards created in Colorado, by Coloradoans, for students in Colorado. We propose, as have others, that the American Birthright Standards were introduced in Colorado for political reasons by people in positions of power to serve interests that are not for the common good of our students in Colorado. The resulting distractions caused more more acrimony, confusion, anger and discord in Colorado. While there are, indeed, important facts included in the ABS, they neglect to address the learning needs of all Colorado students and families in our public schools - as clearly mandated in HB 19-1192.
We encourage ALL Colorado School Districts and Communities to use taxpayer funds responsibly and respect the professional expertise of educators skilled in curriculum development and how humans, particularly children, learn. School districts have a responsibility to their fellow Coloradoans to develop curriculum that aligns with Colorado Academic Standards - because school districts also have the ability to include additional content that meets local needs. This might, indeed, include exploring elements of other curriculums or standards that have elements a local community desires to include in their curriculum based on local needs, values, and parental input.
The Pro-CO Education Project passionately endorses parental and community involvement. We also know that systems and processes for that involvement already exist in Colorado. As parents, families and communities, we have a responsibility to be informed citizens so we know how to engage. We also have a responsibility to help our fellow Coloradoans engage since we don’t all enjoy the same privileges and lived life experiences.
If you don’t know how to participate: Contact your school or school district. If your district appears to not involve the community, see the CDE website for suggestions, or contact us at info@pro-co-network.org.
“Community input should always be part of the process for adjusting the curriculum to meet updated Colorado Academic Standards. District and school curriculum committees typically do this as part of normal, effective educational operations. It is our experience that these curriculum committees usually include parents. Colorado Districts have known for years that community involvement is key to ensuring local input. Is it perfect? No. Can communication and processes improve? Always. Because somewhere something is changing. That’s the nature of today’s world. People need to work together.”
DID YOU KNOW?
In 2008, the CO state legislature passed the “Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids Act” (CAP4K), aligning Colorado’s preschool through postsecondary education system to enable students to graduate ready for success in college and careers. The Act required the Colorado State Board of Education and the Colorado Commission of Higher Education to jointly adopt a description of postsecondary and workforce readiness and to periodically review and update the description. (Source: 2023 CAP4K Legislative Report, Colorado Department of Education)
Top 10 Reasons Why Adopting the American Birthright Instead of Colorado State Academic Standards is a Bad Idea
Putting aside that Colorado’s Academic Standards are written in a manner to ensure that local government (school boards) have responsibility and room to develop their local curriculum….
The ABS weren’t developed by Coloradoans nor with significant input from Coloradoans. In Colorado, we enjoy both the influence our local governments, i.e. school boards have, yet also share that “something special” of being a member of this great state.
A solution that was developed by a diverse group of people from Colorado who are vested in Colorado’s priorities for today and the future already exists via the Colorado Academic Standards or CAS. Discrediting the diverse group who worked hard to collaborate for the common good prompts points to motives beyond academics.
The ABS were not developed in a transparent, collaborative manner, a key tenet of credible, impactful development, as stated by ABS critic, the National Alliance for Social Studies.
Americans who love our Country can handle the truth about American History. Countless American parents of all races understand their right and responsibility as a parent is to help children understand that despite our imperfections, we live in a Great Nation. We can learn from our complicated history.
The ABS are not designed to comply with Colorado Law, such as HB 19-1192.
The Civics Alliance dismisses skill development in its Introduction to ABS. Twenty First Century Skills are a cornerstone of Colorado Academic Standards. Skills like independent, or critical, thinking, problem-solving, and communication are proven to be in demand by employers, workforce experts, technical and trade experts, and higher education experts.
The learning approach ABS promotes is outdated. Rote memorization = vintage.
ABS minimizes minority groups by failing to provide significant coverage and recognition of these groups - as mandated in existing Colorado law. Kids want and need to connect with what they are learning!
The Civics Alliance’s narrow biases are left unchecked due to the lack of diverse input in the ABS’ development. The result is an approach that fails to incorporate viewpoints beyond certain narrow political, religious, cultural and/or racial beliefs.
We need to keep politics and power struggles out of educational curriculum development. Politicians and politically aligned think tanks are behind ABS, not educators, experts, parents, family members, and students.
“Won’t it be wonderful when black history and native American history and Jewish history and all of U.S. history is taught from one book. Just U.S. history.”
The ABS debate relates to Colorado Academic Standards (CAS). What are they?
The CAS were created by Coloradoans for Colorado students.
The Colorado Standards were not created by outsiders .
The CAS provide a grade-by-grade road map to help ensure students are successful in college, careers, and life.
The CAS emphasizes 21st-century skills like creativity, independent thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and communication. These are essential life and work skills that leaders, hiring managers, educators and workforce experts widely agree that are expected, if not demanded, of people entering the workforce.
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) publishes Family & Community Guides where you can learn about Colorado’s Academic Standards.
CAS for Social Studies were adopted in November 2022 after the 1192 Commission completed years of collaborative work with multiple rounds of public input and testimony.
The 4:3 vote was on political party lines. The process for developing the social studies standards was intensive and involved a lot of people from around Colorado, as well as many opportunities for educators, parents, and the general public to share their feedback about what should or shouldn’t be covered. Documentation of meetings and responses to feedback shows that the committee considered and responded to a multitude of feedback - including that of both Republican and Democrat legislators. While some have claimed there was bias against one party, meeting notes indicate that feedback from both Republican and Democrat members of the SBE was adopted. As with any collaborative process, no one person “gets” everything they want.
The development of the Social Studies Standards was purposeful, transparent, and inclusive.
Legislation passed in 2019 required that Colorado’s Social Studies Standards include the histories and contributions of minoritized Coloradans: House Bill 19-1192, Inclusion of American Minorities in Teaching Civil Government.
This legislation created the 1192 Commission, appointed by the Governor, the Commissioner of Education, and the President of the State Historical Society.
The 1192 Commission was a collaborative, good-faith effort for the common good of students in Colorado. It involved people from around Colorado. who contributed an unprecedented combination of professional expertise, diverse life experiences, and a combination of rural, suburban, and metropolitan perspectives from around the state. This was done in accordance with state law.
This Commission worked transparently and with the community and experts beginning in late 2019. Meeting schedules, agendas, and notes are posted on the 1192 Commission web page.
Since 2019, additional legislation impacting social studies has been signed into law in the State of Colorado. Access a summary of relevant legislation on the CDE website. If the link does not work, we have a PDF download from the CDE site.
Are you trying to understand how Colorado’s Social Studies Academic Standards were developed? There’s a ton of information on the CDE’s website - if you know where to look.
The work of the 1192 Commission, which was charged with implementing Colorado law HB19-1192, is here: https://www.cde.state.co.us/standardsandinstruction/1192commission
State Board of Education (SBE) meetings documentation that is useful is in two different places. These months appear to have the most information relevant to CO Social Studies Standards: 2019 NOV, 2022 JUNE, 2022 OCT, and 2022 NOV.
VIDEOS of SBE meetings are linked here: CO SBE Video Meeting Archives
DOCUMENTS for SBE meetings, such as agendas, meeting notes, and supplemental materials are on BoardDocs here: https://go.boarddocs.com/co/cde/Board.nsf/Public .
The VIDEOS pages above also have a link to BoardDocs.
In the top right, navigate to “MEETINGS.” You’ll see a dropdown on the LEFT with a list of YEARS. Click the PLUS sign to see the meeting dates for that year.
Pro-CO Education Project plans to contact the CDE to provide feedback about some minor website changes that will make it much easier for the public to understand how to engage
Highlights: A Reverse Chronology
Summer/Fall 2023: Garfield RE-2 School District
Board President, Tony May, was quoted in a local paper suggesting ABS as a solution for the School District. Local community members started participating in Public Comments at Board Meetings. Both the FFRF and Voces Unidas released statements against ABS over the summer. As of September 2023, the Garfield RE-2 District staff is providing opportunities for community input via surveys and a community task force. Garfield RE-2 website
2023: Woodland Park
January 2023: The Board adopted ABS as their standards.
May 2023: WPSD hired the consulting firm, Helping Schools Thrive and consultant Lis Richards, to develop a plan for Social Studies Standards implementation in Woodland Park using the American Birthright Standards. We found this WP community website post about it.
Sometimes links don’t work, so here’s a place to download the report produced by HST. HST Social Studies Guide Created for Woodland Park School District
Late 2022 through 2023
Curriculum professionals, teachers, administrators, and school boards around the state started doing their jobs as it relates to updated CO Academic Standards: They developed and began to implement plans to develop their District curriculum, which must be implemented, per State law, by the 2024/2025 school year.
The CDE published supporting tools and resources related to the updated standards and content.
In January 2022, The Woodland Park School District Board of Education adopted American Birthright Standards. Within days, a book challenge was filed by a community member, complaining that the book did not align with the new standards. The Interim Superintendent, Ken Witt, stated he reviewed the book and agreed.
In the summer of 2023, controversy surrounded Garfield School District’s President, Tony May, concerning his comments about possibly implementing ABS in the Garfield School District. As of September 12, 2023, the District’s Board of Education is gathering and considering community feedback.
November 22: Social Studies Standards Approved
11/10 Agenda Item 16.01: Standards Revision Amendment Vote Inclusion of American Minorities in the Teaching of Civil Government (HB 19-1192)
Documents include a memo from Floyd Cobb, Ph.D, Associate Commissioner, to the SBE. Similar in format to the October member, it includes a chart that documents the feedback received from SBE Board members and the action that was taken by the Committee. See “Proposed Amendment” for the “From” and “To” content.
Presentation: Inclusion of Minorities in Teaching of Civil Government (HB 19-1192)
Report: History, Culture, Social Contributions, and Civil Government in Education Commission Report, June 2021 . For those interested in who was on the 1192 Commission, membership is described in detail on pages 2 & 3.
11/10 Agenda Item 16.02: Social Studies Review and Revision Final Vote
This memo and presentation below are similar in structure to prior memos presentations from Dr. Cobb, Associate Commissioner, on specific sub-topics related to the Standards review.
Memo: Social Studies Standards Review - Full Document 11102022
Presentation: Standards Review and Revision: Social Studies Final Amendments and Vote 11102022
Final Committee Revisions June 2022 Presented 11102022: The is the “redlined” version of the Standards. It should the June 2022 Revised Standards with redlines - AND the August 2022 SBE proposed Amendments in green.
Final Adopted Social Studies Standards Nov 2022
Several motions and votes were held, which the public can view.
Board Member McClellan: "I move forward Amendment number 1 as presented on Board Docs for agenda item 16.02." Second: Escarcega. Motion carried.
Board Member McClellan: "I move forward Amendment number 2 as presented on Board Docs for agenda item 16.02." Second: Escarcega. Motion carried.
Rankin: "I move forward Amendment number 3 as presented on Board Docs for agenda item 16.02." Second: Durham. Motion carried.
Rankin: "I move forward Amendment numbers 4-24 as presented on Board Docs for agenda item 16.02." Second: Durham. Motion failed.
Scheffel: "I move to replace the current Social Studies Standards with the American Birthright Standards, knowing the standards will need to be aligned with 1192 & 1336." Second: Rankin. Motion failed.
Schroeder: "I move forward Amendment number 26 as presented on Board Docs for agenda item 16.02 and inclusive of Amendment number 1 & 2 from agenda item 16.02." Second: McClellan. Motion carried.
Escarcega: "I move to approve the full and complete Colorado Academic Standards for Social Studies as presented on Board Docs in the document titled “Redlined Copy of Full Social Studies recommendations with SBE Amendments October 2022”, as amended by the Board today during the discussion and votes on Items 16.01 and 16.02." Second: Esser. Motion carried.
October 2022: State Board of Education (SBE) Meetings - Significant Votes Held on Civics and Media Literacy
10/12 Agenda Item 15.03: Standards Revision Amendment Vote Social Studies Standards Civics and Media Literacy
The SBE discussed the Civics and Media Literacy Social Studies recommendations. The document called “SBE Memo Social Studies Standards Revision - Civics Media Literacy Memo October 2022 Final PDF" includes a chart that lists recommendations by Board Member Name, relevant Grade Level, a reference to Grade Level Expectations Number, the Proposed Amendment to the standards, and the Page #. This memo is from Floyd Cobb, Ph.D., Associate Commissioner, Student Learning Division. The revisions (amendments) were proposed in response to what the Committee presented at the June 2022 SBE meeting.
Several motions and votes were held, which the public can view.
Board Member Deborah Scheffel "moved to amend the Civics portion of the Social Studies Standards by replacing the current Standards with the American Birthright Social Studies Standards and amend the document to align with Colorado Standards." Board Member Durham seconded the motion. The motion failed.
Board Member Rankin "moved to amend the Civics portion of the Social Studies Standards by adopting the recommendations as proposed by Board Member Rankin, as posted on BoardDocs." Board member Durham seconded. Motion failed.
Board Member Escarcega: "To meet the requirements of SB21-067 regarding the teaching of Civics, I move to approve the revisions to the Civics portion of the Colorado Academic Standards for Social Studies as recommended by the social studies committee." Seconded by Esser. Motion carried.
Board Member Scheffel: “I move to amend the Media Literacy portion of the Social Studies Standards by replacing the language as it stands with the bullets provided by Board Member Scheffel for each grade level, as proposed on BoardDocs." Second: Durham. Motion failed.
Board Member Escarcega: “To meet the requirements of HB 21-1103 regarding the teaching of Media Literacy, I move to approve the revisions to the Media Literacy portion of the Colorado Academic Standards for Social Studies as recommended by the social studies committee” Second: Esser. Motion carried.
The 10/12, Agenda Item 5.04 concerns the SBE approving the definition of “Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness..” All members voted in favor (Steve Durham, Rebecca McClellan, Joyce Rankin, Debora Scheffel, Angelika Schroeder, Karla Esser, Lisa Escarcega.
Note that the American Birthright Standards, in its Introduction, states on page 21, that it "...avoids including skills and concepts because including them makes state standards unreadably complex." A search of the ABS document by the Civics Alliance for the terms “workforce readiness” and “21st Century" skills” came up with zero occurrences for both.
August 2022: Public Comment and Vote re: Standards for Holocaust Genocide Studies
08/16 SBE Meeting: Members of the public made comments and gave testimony criticizing the removal of content related to several minority groups. The testimony is public and accessible on Board Docs.
08/17 SBE Meeting,: SBE voted regarding the Standards Revision Holocaust Genocide Studies, legislated by HB 20-1032.
June 2022: The 1192 Commission delivered recommendations to the Colorado Board of Education.
In this meeting, the Commission presented revisions to the standards that did not cover minority group representation in a manner that many Coloradoans felt was in compliance with HB 19-1192. See Agenda Item 4.01: Standards Revision Update.
Presentation to SBE: This is the first “big” presentation from the Committee to the SBE since the first draft of the Social Studies Standards were made public in late 2021.
May 2022: Discussion about Multicultural Representation, Diverse Representation, and Specific Minority Group Representation
Additional Public Feedback (to November Recommended Revisions) was published.
View these letters to the State Board of Education regarding the need to include Minority Groups in the Academic Standards. Prior to this, others had called on the Board of Education to remove many of the references that had been included by the working committee.:
Include Minority Groups in Standards - From Legislators - Diverse Representation 2022
Include Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Communities in Standards 2022
Multicultural Studies in K-12 from CDE 2022
April 2022: Feedback Continues
See the agenda for April 12, 2022, 8.01: Standards Revision Update: Overview of Public Feedback on Draft Social Studies Standards.
Memo to SBE: Overview of Public Feedback on Draft Social Studies Standards
Presentation Overview of Public Feedback of Draft Social Studies Standards Revision . This is a summary of the feedback the Committee received about the Revisions they shared with the public in November 2021. On page 10, they provide a chart with an overview of the Online Database Feedback.
November 2021: Revisions to Social Studies Standards Proposed
The Recommended Social Studies Standards (published Nov 2021) were made public.
Freedom From Religion Foundation Opposes ABS, 07/19/23
“The Freedom from Religion Foundation strongly urges the Garfield Re-2 School Board in Rifle, Colo., to reject the Christian nationalist “American Birthright” standards currently under consideration that would radically alter its social studies curriculum."
Reject the adoption of American Birthright standards
Uphold its duty to provide standards grounded in current scholarship, reflect best practices in social studies education and be inclusive for all student backgrounds and ability levels
Adopt recommendations by experts such as the National Council for the Social Studies.
Voces Unidas Opposes Garfield RE-2 Board’s Plan to Adopt American Birthright Standards, Posted 08/26/23 on Facebook
“We strongly oppose the direction Tony May and the radical Garfield Re-2 school board are taking a Latino-majority school district with this attempt to impose the right-wing American Birthright Standard on students as the new social studies curriculum.
Despite a nearly 60% Latino student body, there is zero Latino representation on the school board to push back against this unnecessary proposal that is utterly out of step with the district's needs.
Let's shift the focus toward closing student achievement gaps, where it belongs, while working to meet the state's standards for a more inclusive, robust understanding of American history, civics, and ideals.”
“Everybody counts in applying democracy. And there will never be a true democracy until every responsible and law-abiding adult in it, without regard to race, sex, color or creed has his or her own inalienable and unpurchasable voice in government.”
What’s been happening in other Districts around CO related to History Curriculum and American Birthright Standards (ABS)?
Colorado Springs
Book Bans, the Bible, and Policy in D20 2020
Woodland Park
.WPSD Adopts American Birthright Standards in January 2023
Garfield
Garfield RE-2 President Suggests American Birthright Standards
Garfield RE-2 Citizens Speak Out Against ABS Comments in July 2023
Jefferson County
2014 Protest & Walkout Over History Curriculum