Curriculum News in Brief

States Fueling Recall of New Framework for AP History Course

By Liana Loewus — February 24, 2015 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The debate over the new Advanced Placement U.S. History framework is rolling through the states.

Oklahoma’s House education committee last week approved a bill that would have forbidden schools from teaching the new framework released by the College Board. Later that week, however, Rep. Dan Fisher, the Republican who introduced the bill, pulled it for revisions after receiving national attention on the issue, according to The Oklahoman. The new bill would call not for the elimination of the history course, but rather for a review of the new framework.

In its earlier version, the bill would have barred the use of state funds on anything related to the course. It also required U.S. history courses to use specified historical documents, including the Declaration of Independence; the Bill of Rights; John Winthrop’s sermon"A Model of Christian Charity"; the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech; two speeches by President Lyndon B. Johnson; three speeches by President Ronald Reagan; and President George W. Bush’s address to the nation on Sept. 11, 2001.

State Sen. William Ligon, a Georgia Republican, introduced a resolution this month calling for the return of the previous course framework. He said the new one “reflects a radically revisionist view of American history that emphasizes negative aspects of our nation’s history while omitting or minimizing positive aspects.”

The Republican National Committee has also condemned the framework, and the Texas state board of education approved a measure requiring high schools to teach the state curriculum rather than the AP framework.

A version of this article appeared in the February 25, 2015 edition of Education Week as States Fueling Recall of New Framework for AP History Course

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Curriculum Opinion How Much Autonomy Should Teachers Have Over Instructional Materials?
Some policymakers are pushing schools to adopt high-quality scripted lessons for teachers. And here's why.
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Curriculum Middle Schools Often Prioritize English and Math Over Other Subjects. Should They?
An Illinois district is equalizing time across the four major content areas. But the decision comes with trade-offs.
5 min read
Blue gradient photo of a middle school boy and girl in science class working with beakers with an overlay of a pie chart showing a slice of the pie.
SDI Productions/E+/Getty
Curriculum Q&A How This School Librarian Transformed the Library and Got More Kids to Read
While schools across the country have shed librarians, Leigh Knapp became the first full-time librarian at her school.
7 min read
A look at the new seating librarian Leigh Knapp brought into Bethune Academy's school library in Milwaukee.
A look at the new seating librarian Leigh Knapp brought into Bethune Academy's school library in Milwaukee. Knapp became the school's first full-time librarian at the start of the 2024-25 school year, with a vision of revitalizing the library and changing the school's culture around reading.
Courtesy of Leigh Knapp
Curriculum Opinion Which Books Belong in Classrooms? Which Don't?
District officials, parents, and the Supreme Court are debating where to draw the line.
7 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week