On Thursday, the Alabama State Board of Education examined a new social studies curriculum that, if approved, would be the first revision to the standards in more than ten years.
The board has yet to formally approve the 165-page plan, which would mandate schools to teach about the Holocaust, change curricula, and increase elective possibilities. Additionally, the curriculum changes how the Civil Rights Movement is taught, with fifth graders providing background information and elaborating on Alabama’s involvement.
Geneva City Schools administrator Ron Snell, who chaired the group and was one of the presenters, said the creation of the proposal was “a very transparent process” that includes educators and organizations from all over the state. Officials last updated the course of study in 2010.
“This is an effort to show you that this was a complete statewide effort,” he stated. “It’s an attempt to ensure that this document is one that represents our state, our constituents, certainly this board, and of course, our educators around the state. Something that they can be proud of.”
A slide that listed the groups engaged featured Eagle Forum, a conservative group, as well as the Alabama Department of Archives and History, which has been trying to increase the representation of the state’s diverse population in its holdings.
The speakers cited an assessment of Alabama’s history curriculum conducted by the right-leaning education think tank Fordham Institute, which gave the state’s program high marks overall but deemed the goals of the seventh-grade civics curriculum “worthy but unrealistic” because they expected students to understand a variety of topics, such as an economics unit; the structure, funding, and function of the federal government and Alabama; and identifying current issues and how the nation can improve.
Requests for additional Alabama history were among the issues raised by Marcia Farabee, director of curriculum and instruction at Gadsden City Schools, in her presentation to the committee.
It seemed that board members supported the revised curriculum. Yvette Richardson, the state representative for District 4, and Tonya Chestnut, the vice president of the board and representative for District 5, both praised the inclusion of Black history in the standards.
“Alabama has a rich history,” she stated. “We have citizens who have made global impact, and to narrow that down to one course in elementary school, our feedback said that’s not enough. We really need to dive more deeply in Alabama history.”
It seemed that board members supported the revised curriculum. Yvette Richardson, the state representative for District 4, and Tonya Chestnut, the vice president of the board and representative for District 5, both praised the inclusion of Black history in the standards.
The Alabama Legislature enacted a rule prohibiting the teaching of alleged “divisive concepts” during the most recent legislative session, which detractors claimed would restrict the amount of Black history taught in schools.
In 2021, the Board decided to outlaw the teaching of critical race theory, a framework for understanding why racism still exists in American society that is taught in graduate and college programs. In K–12 education, critical race theory is not taught.
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The delegate for District 3, Stephanie Bell, asked the committee a number of questions, one of which was how the American government was defined. According to Blake Busbin, the K-12 Social Studies Specialist for Instructional Services at the Alabama State Department of Education, the most current draft referred to it as a constitutional republic.
Additionally, the new course of study emphasizes certain subjects, such as the emergence of authoritarianism, and extends the scope of World War II.
The course also requires students to “describe the contributions of other Alabamian supporters who aided their efforts as well as Alabama leaders and foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement.”
It cites Fred Shuttlesworth of Birmingham, John LeFlore of Mobile, and Rosa Parks of Montgomery as examples.
