War on History Education

War on History Education

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Superintendent's Message: Updated Thoughts on Federal Orders - Pasquale Scuderi of Alameda Unified School District
Superintendent's Message: Updated Thoughts on Federal Orders - Pasquale Scuderi of Alameda Unified School District
This unqualified defense of education was published the day after the Executive "Ending Radical Indoctrination Order.
the consistency and content of these orders does, in my view, warrant some comparable level of general reassurance, response, and a reminder that our team will follow these developments closely and stay in continuous contact with our colleagues across the county and state to ensure we continue to educate in line with our local values and commitments.
But advancing an educational agenda is absolutely in my job description, as is ensuring that our community knows that we will do everything we can to contest the notions that some students should be invisible, or unprotected, or that honest explorations of the past and present are un-American.
·alamedaunified.org·
Superintendent's Message: Updated Thoughts on Federal Orders - Pasquale Scuderi of Alameda Unified School District
DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA announce initial cancellation of grants and contracts to Columbia University worth $400 million
DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA announce initial cancellation of grants and contracts to Columbia University worth $400 million
Although the General Services Administration states this cancellation is in response to harassment of Jewish students, many people and organizations see this retribution for pro-Palestinian protests. it is important to note that the Columbia University's endowment exceeds $14 billion
Today, the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced the immediate cancellation of approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.
·gsa.gov·
DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA announce initial cancellation of grants and contracts to Columbia University worth $400 million
Open letter to the University of Chicago administration from the University of Chicago American Association of University Professors
Open letter to the University of Chicago administration from the University of Chicago American Association of University Professors
Four main points demanded of the University of Chicago signed by over 200 faculty members. These include non-cooperation with federal authorities except when strictly required by law.
The actions taken by the new Trump administration represent a clear political intrusion on the academic autonomy of our research and teaching activities.
We ask that the university publicly confirm that it will not cooperate with immigration authorities or with requests for information about students, faculty, and staff that are not strictly required by law.
We ask that the university publicly commit to providing stopgap funding for federally-funded grants that may be blocked, frozen, cut, or canceled by the Trump administration, especially in instances where faculty, staff, contractors, and/or students will not be paid.
We ask the university to publicly commit that it will reject any efforts to equate political disagreement with religious, racial, or national discrimination, and that it will also not share the names or contact information of students, staff, or faculty based on their perceived or actual political opinions or affiliations.
We ask that the university commit to refuse all pressure to disinvest from or otherwise disavow or stigmatize these units in any way.
Kalven Report
·uchicagoaaup.wordpress.com·
Open letter to the University of Chicago administration from the University of Chicago American Association of University Professors
New Jersey Multistate Guidance for schools on diversity equity inclusion and accessibility initiatives (March 6)
New Jersey Multistate Guidance for schools on diversity equity inclusion and accessibility initiatives (March 6)

NJ Dept of Education memo noting that the US Dept. of Education's Feb 14th "Dear Colleague" letter and Feb 28 FAQ DOES NOT change "existing law and well-established that encourage – and even require – schools to promote educational opportunity for students of all backgrounds.”

Furthermore, "State law and regulations continue to require school districts to implement curricula that promote inclusivity"

This document references a multi-state response to the Dept of Education Memos and Executive Orders - https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases25/2025-0305_Updated-Joint-Guidance-re-School-Programs-Multistate.pdf

·nj.gov·
New Jersey Multistate Guidance for schools on diversity equity inclusion and accessibility initiatives (March 6)
Exclusive: NIH to terminate hundreds of active research grants
Exclusive: NIH to terminate hundreds of active research grants
Nature magazine reporting how research grants are being cancelled because of political ideology
“It’s extremely alarming that grants that have been vetted by the scientific community and deemed important and impactful to understand the world are now being cancelled because of political ideology,” says Lisa Fazio, a cognitive psychologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, who studies misinformation. “For all this talk about free speech, this is direct censorship of scientific research.”
·nature.com·
Exclusive: NIH to terminate hundreds of active research grants
Secretary McMahon: Our Department's Final Mission
Secretary McMahon: Our Department's Final Mission
March 3rd - Secretary of Education's first statement to the public and staff of the Department of Education
The Department of Education’s role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.
Millions of young Americans are trapped in failing schools, subjected to radical anti-American ideology, or saddled with college debt for a degree that has not provided a meaningful return on their investment.
·ed.gov·
Secretary McMahon: Our Department's Final Mission
‘Final Mission’ for Education Dept. Begins Now, McMahon Says
‘Final Mission’ for Education Dept. Begins Now, McMahon Says
This article is only useful for the quotes from the first email message sent by McMahon to the 4,000+ employees of the Dept of Education
Ms. McMahon was sworn into office by Jacqueline Clay, the department’s chief human capital officer. By 9:29 p.m., she sent her first email to the department’s roughly 4,200 workers with the subject line, “Our Department’s Final Mission.”
“Restoring patriotic education and classes” was among her top priorities, she wrote. The department would “restore the right role of state oversight in education,” she added. This restoration, she said, would mean significant changes for the agency’s staff, budgets and operations. “We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul — a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great,” she wrote.
Some agency officials said privately that the email seemed like an attempt to undermine morale within an agency already reeling from the administration’s aggressive overhaul. These officials, who requested anonymity out of fear of retribution, said they believed their new boss was delivering a not-so-subtle message to retire early or simply resign.
·nytimes.com·
‘Final Mission’ for Education Dept. Begins Now, McMahon Says
AAUP President's Letter to NJ Gov. Hochul voicing her demand that Hunter College remove job posting for professor of Palestinian Studies
AAUP President's Letter to NJ Gov. Hochul voicing her demand that Hunter College remove job posting for professor of Palestinian Studies

Amidst this extraordinarily repressive climate, it is imperative that both government and university leaders serve as bulwarks against authoritarian interference—not as further impediments to academic freedom and inquiry.

·aaup.org·
AAUP President's Letter to NJ Gov. Hochul voicing her demand that Hunter College remove job posting for professor of Palestinian Studies
Illinois State Board of Education not complying with Trump’s DEI orders
Illinois State Board of Education not complying with Trump’s DEI orders
State Superintendent of Illinois Tony Sanders explains how the state does not intend to comply with the "Dear Colleague" letter, pointing out that the letter itself says that it does not have the force of law. These are his comments in front of a house committee. Here is a news story about his comments in context https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/illinois-schools-continuing-dei-initiatives-despite-federal-funding-threats/
·youtu.be·
Illinois State Board of Education not complying with Trump’s DEI orders
Trump 2.0: an assault on science anywhere is an assault on science everywhere
Trump 2.0: an assault on science anywhere is an assault on science everywhere
Nature magazine's call for "the global research community to take a stand against these attacks". It calls for "researchers at other organizations, such as universities, scientific societies, businesses, labour unions and campaign groups have more freedom, and must exercise it by showing support for affected colleagues."
The administration has chosen the opposite path, launching an unprecedented assault on science, on research institutions and on vital international organizations and initiatives.
. Orwellian restrictions have been placed on research, including bans on studies that mention particular words relating to sex and gender, race, disability and other protected characteristics.
It is hard to put into words the extent of the damage being done to the US research enterprise, which is of almost incalculable value to both the nation itself and the wider world.
One priority must be to denounce these actions, to shout about their negative effects, to support researchers and to defend their ability to work and study without fear for their jobs. Understandably, those working at — or even leading — federal agencies might feel that they cannot speak up, but researchers at other organizations, such as universities, scientific societies, businesses, labour unions and campaign groups have more freedom, and must exercise it by showing support for affected colleagues.
This is exactly what I'm asking the NJSSSA to do!
·nature.com·
Trump 2.0: an assault on science anywhere is an assault on science everywhere
Statement on Academic Freedom by Gleider Hernández, President of the European Society of International Law – European Society of International Law | Société européenne de droit international
Statement on Academic Freedom by Gleider Hernández, President of the European Society of International Law – European Society of International Law | Société européenne de droit international
The Free University of Berlin canceled a public presentation of Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapportuer on the Palestinian Territories out of security concerns it would be "controversial" - This is the statement of the president of the European Society of International Law condemning that decision
·esil-sedi.eu·
Statement on Academic Freedom by Gleider Hernández, President of the European Society of International Law – European Society of International Law | Société européenne de droit international
Gov. Hochul orders CUNY to remove Palestine scholar job post
Gov. Hochul orders CUNY to remove Palestine scholar job post
The Governor of New York ordered a state university to remove a job posting, and the university complied. None of the details of this story allow for any other interpretation but a direct attack on academic freedom
·insidehighered.com·
Gov. Hochul orders CUNY to remove Palestine scholar job post
Department of Education Form (The tip line to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.
Department of Education Form (The tip line to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.

"This submission form is an outlet for students, parents, teachers, and the broader community to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning. The Department of Education will utilize community submissions to identify potential areas for investigation."

·enddei.ed.gov·
Department of Education Form (The tip line to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.
US Dept of Education Feb 14th "Dear Colleague" letter to all educational institutions receiving federal funds
US Dept of Education Feb 14th "Dear Colleague" letter to all educational institutions receiving federal funds
This letter to universities and K-12 schools claims that federal law prohibits schools from teaching or promoting certain ideas about race that the department deems unacceptable, giving schools to February 28 to comply with this interpretation of the law or risk losing their federal funding.
·ed.gov·
US Dept of Education Feb 14th "Dear Colleague" letter to all educational institutions receiving federal funds
Open letter on academic freedom, in solidarity with Randa Abdel-Fattah - Overland literary journal
Open letter on academic freedom, in solidarity with Randa Abdel-Fattah - Overland literary journal
American educators fearing repression of academic freedom and inquiry should know the global nature of the struggle. This letter and petition of academic and scholars is in support of Randa Abdel-Fattah of Macquarie University who has been targets by the Australian Education Minister for her advocacy for the Palestinian people
In the context of Israel’s monumental destruction of Gaza in a genocidal campaign that is part of its almost century-long occupation of historic Palestine, academics who have criticised Israel’s conduct in Gaza have faced relentless attacks by the Coalition, the Murdoch Press, and pro-Israel organisations.  Palestinian academics, along with First Nations academics and other anti-racism scholars, have been subjected to particularly damaging campaigns that aim to end their careers, and silence their criticisms of Israel’s violence.
The attacks on these courageous scholars is a blatant attempt to silence academic critics of Israel and anti-racist research more broadly. As such, the implications of these attacks go well beyond their impact on the academics targeted.
Such attacks conflate legitimate critiques of Israel and the political ideology of Zionism with anti-semitism, a move that must be understood for what it is: the weaponisation of anti-racist discourse in the service of political repression and with the aim of silencing Palestinian voices.
·overland.org.au·
Open letter on academic freedom, in solidarity with Randa Abdel-Fattah - Overland literary journal
National Archives and Records Administration Meet NARA's Leadership - Marco Rubio
National Archives and Records Administration Meet NARA's Leadership - Marco Rubio
The National Archives and Records Administration maintains and manages the preservation and documentation of historical records. It also transmits Electoral Votes to Congress and Constitutional Amendment documentation. After the Trump administration fired the Archivist of the United States, Colleen Shogan, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States, has been appointed acting Archivist of the United States. James Byron, the President & CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation in Yorba Linda, California was appointed "Senior Advisor" to the Acting Archivist.
·archives.gov·
National Archives and Records Administration Meet NARA's Leadership - Marco Rubio
AHA–OAH Statement on Executive Order “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling”
AHA–OAH Statement on Executive Order “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling”

Joint Statement of the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians rejecting "the premise that it is “anti-American” or “subversive” to learn the full history of the United States with its rich and dramatic contradictions, challenges, and conflicts alongside its achievements, innovations, and opportunities."

This statement has been publicly endorsed by 36 history education associations

We reject the premise that it is “anti-American” or “subversive” to learn the full history of the United States with its rich and dramatic contradictions, challenges, and conflicts alongside its achievements, innovations, and opportunities.
·historians.org·
AHA–OAH Statement on Executive Order “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling”
PEN America Condemns Education Department's Threat to Defund Schools Over DEI Programs - PEN America
PEN America Condemns Education Department's Threat to Defund Schools Over DEI Programs - PEN America
PEN America's response to the Feb 14 “Dear Colleague” letter from the Department of Education’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights threatening schools and universities with the loss of federal funding for "teaching or promoting certain ideas about race that the department deems unacceptable."
The administration’s outrageous “Dear Colleague” letter seeks to declare it a civil rights violation for educational institutions to engage in any diversity-related programming or to promote any diversity-related ideas – potentially including everything from a panel on the Civil Rights Movement to a Lunar New Year celebration. This declaration has no basis in law and is an affront to the freedom of speech and ideas in educational settings. It represents yet another twisting of civil rights law in an effort to demand ideological conformity by schools and universities and to do away with critical inquiry about race and identity.
·pen.org·
PEN America Condemns Education Department's Threat to Defund Schools Over DEI Programs - PEN America
The War on History Is a War on Democracy - Timothy Snyder
The War on History Is a War on Democracy - Timothy Snyder
Timothy Snyder is the preeminent historian of the history of Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. Here he argues persuasively that new laws restricting the discussion of race in American schools have dire precedents in Europe. This was written in June of 2021
#War on History
·nytimes.com·
The War on History Is a War on Democracy - Timothy Snyder
CATO Institute - Indoctrination, Choice, and the Constitution: Trump’s Education EOs
CATO Institute - Indoctrination, Choice, and the Constitution: Trump’s Education EOs
The CATO Institute is generally regarded as a libertarian think tank advocating for limited government - this is their take on the Executive Orders regarding education. In it, they state "the federal government is not justified in prohibiting discussion of ideas just because the president thinks they are wrong."
Unfortunately, both orders walk the edge of violating the Constitution, including by delivering Trump’s preferred brand of indoctrination.
However, teaching that the United States is fundamentally racist, sexist, or otherwise discriminatory does not discriminate against any student, nor should it be put off limits by Washington. It might be a terribly inaccurate characterization of the country, but the federal government is not justified in prohibiting discussion of ideas just because the president thinks they are wrong.
Nowhere does the Constitution authorize the federal government, much less the president alone, to “promote patriotic education.”
·cato.org·
CATO Institute - Indoctrination, Choice, and the Constitution: Trump’s Education EOs
National Indian Education Association Letter to Administration regarding the Ending Radical Indoctrination Executive Order
National Indian Education Association Letter to Administration regarding the Ending Radical Indoctrination Executive Order
This letter to the Acting Secretary of Education and Acting Attorney General emphasizes consultation with the NIEA to ensure tribal histories and culture are included in K-12 curriculum and announces its commitment to " utilizing Tribal sovereignty to educate and protect our children in a manner that is clear and responsive to each of our community’s needs".
The letter emphasizes the importance of Tribal consultation in shaping the “Ending Indoctrination Strategy” to ensure that state laws and locally led Tribal efforts to include Tribal history and culture in K-12 curriculum are upheld.
·niea.org·
National Indian Education Association Letter to Administration regarding the Ending Radical Indoctrination Executive Order
Parker Poe Law Firm - What President Trump's Order on 'Ending Radical Indoctrination' Means for K-12 Schools
Parker Poe Law Firm - What President Trump's Order on 'Ending Radical Indoctrination' Means for K-12 Schools
This law firm's summary of the Executive "Ending Radical Indoctrination" order does not especially provide any additional information for public education administrators and teachers, but it does summarize the order well and makes it easier to understand its implications for teaching and learning history. Many law firms are publishing such guidance that can be easily found for comparison.
it sets forth the Trump administration’s plans for the future of public education, and, importantly, directs certain federal agencies to examine eliminating funding for schools that advance or promote certain prohibited ideologies.
The order defines this as "an ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups, rather than as individuals, and minimizes agency, merit, and capability in favor of immoral generalizations,
. For instance, we can expect publication of the order’s requisite Ending Indoctrination Strategy within the next three months, and we can anticipate legal challenges to this and other executive actions impacting public education.
·parkerpoe.com·
Parker Poe Law Firm - What President Trump's Order on 'Ending Radical Indoctrination' Means for K-12 Schools
NJ school districts at a loss: Feds say drop diversity efforts, but NJ requires them (northjersey.com)
NJ school districts at a loss: Feds say drop diversity efforts, but NJ requires them (northjersey.com)
Before reading this, get the Chrome plugin rocket readability to get rid of the advertising. This does not provide any definitive guidance but does help get a sense of the impact of the Executive Orders on school districts in New Jersey
Rutgers considers diversity to be necessary to foster the cultural competencies, resilience, and openness to dialogue that promote the intellectual growth and intergroup understanding that are essential for success in the classroom, the university community, and society at large
·northjersey.com·
NJ school districts at a loss: Feds say drop diversity efforts, but NJ requires them (northjersey.com)
Navigating New Federal Government Actions and Requirements | Rutgers University
Navigating New Federal Government Actions and Requirements | Rutgers University
This source provides Rutgers students and faculty with guidance for navigating federal attacks on education. Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway asserted that Rutgers "considers diversity to be necessary to foster the cultural competencies, resilience, and openness to dialogue that promote the intellectual growth and intergroup understanding that are essential for success in the classroom, the university community, and society at large."
·rutgers.edu·
Navigating New Federal Government Actions and Requirements | Rutgers University
Trump Administration Calls On Teachers to Indoctrinate Students in American History
Trump Administration Calls On Teachers to Indoctrinate Students in American History
Essay by historian and educator Kevin Levin argues that President Trump doesn't want history teachers to indoctrinate students unless it is his preferred form of indoctrination.
This commitment to “Patriotice education” through indoctrination and force is part of a much larger plan to expunge any exploration of race and gender in our history and its place in organizing our society today.
In other words, ask for clarification. Force them to ask their superiors for clarification and so on. Get them on record both for later reference and as a way to begin the conversation. My concern right now is not so much with the federal government, but with local right-wing activists like “Moms for Liberty” who will use this opportunity to ratchet up their hate campaign against local teachers.
·kevinmlevin.substack.com·
Trump Administration Calls On Teachers to Indoctrinate Students in American History
Illinois Governor Pritzker Warns Against Threats to American Democracy in State of the State Address
Illinois Governor Pritzker Warns Against Threats to American Democracy in State of the State Address
In his annual State of the State address Democratic Governor JB Pritzker warns Americans against the threats to their democracy and says if they don't want to repeat history, they should be strong enough to learn from it. Pritzker says the seed of "distrust, hate and blame" is being sown to divide Americans and that he is "watching with a foreboding dread what is happening to our country." Pritzker appeals to Americans to take a stand, warning, "the authoritarian playbook is laid bare here....We don't have kings in America, and I don't intend to bend a knee to one."
Illinois Governor Pritzker
·c-span.org·
Illinois Governor Pritzker Warns Against Threats to American Democracy in State of the State Address
Against Anticipatory Obedience - American Association of University Professors
Against Anticipatory Obedience - American Association of University Professors

The statement of the American Association of University Professors explains how the Trump Administration will "attack the curricular authority of the faculty on a number of fronts, including professors’ ability to undertake “teaching, research, and service that respond to the needs of a diverse global public", calling on the AAUP chapters to "vigorously and loudly oppose them"
The statement closes with a call to action - "Now is not the time to be complacent. Now is the time to act.

Now is not the time to be complacent. Now is the time to act.
The University of Chicago’s 1967 Kalven Report, often cited as the source of calls for “institutional neutrality,” declares, “From time to time instances will arise in which the society, or segments of it, threaten the very mission of the university and its values of free inquiry. In such a crisis, it becomes the obligation of the university as an institution to oppose such measures and actively to defend its interests and its values.”
·aaup.org·
Against Anticipatory Obedience - American Association of University Professors
Brian Gibbs - I am absolutely heartbroken and completely... | Facebook
Brian Gibbs - I am absolutely heartbroken and completely... | Facebook
This post by a recently fired park ranger shows his personal loss but also shows how Important learning at National Parks is being indiscriminately destroyed. Irreplaceable institutional knowledge will soon be gone from historic sites across the country
·facebook.com·
Brian Gibbs - I am absolutely heartbroken and completely... | Facebook