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diane ravitch
Trump Ed Dept. Partners With Right-Groups to Spread White-Washed Civics Lessons in 'Schools Across the Nation'
One civics education advocate said the program, which will push schools to teach history content written by PragerU, Hillsdale College, and Turning Point USA, "smacks of authoritarianism."
Sep 18, 2025
President Donald Trump’s Department of Education has announced that it will partner with right-wing think tanks and organizations to develop and spread what it claims is “patriotic education”—but which critics worry is nothing less than ahistorical propaganda—in American "schools across the nation."
Earlier this week, the Trump administration redirected $137 million initially meant for programs aimed at minority students toward what it described as "American history and civics education."
Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced Wednesday that the money will be directed toward discretionary grants aimed at K-12 schools alongside the announcement of new civics curriculum and programs being drawn up by the 250 Civics Education Coalition—a consortium of more than 40 right-wing groups. The goal, McMahon said, was to advance education that "emphasizes a unifying and uplifting portrayal of the nation's founding ideals" in advance of the nation's 250th anniversary in 2026.
It is not Trump's first crack at instilling the nation's youth with a "patriotic education." In the waning days of his first term in office, Trump unveiled the 1776 Report, which, education columnist Jennifer Berkshire recently noted in The Baffler, "was widely panned by actual historians for its worshipful treatment of the Founding Fathers, its downplaying of slavery, and its portrayal of a century-old 'administrative state' controlled by leftist radicals."
While little has been publicized yet about what McMahon's new endeavor will look like in practice, it is known the kinds of people and organizations who will be crafting it. The civics initiative is being led by the America First Policy Institute, a MAGA-aligned think tank that has been responsible for staffing Trump's second administration and has received over $1 million from his political action committee, the Save America PAC. Until 2023, McMahon herself served on the board of AFPI.
In 2022, the group presented a piece of model legislation for a "Civics Course Act" to be introduced in states. It included requirements for students to spend ample time studying the nation's founding documents and figures while banning the teaching of what it called the "defamatory history of America’s founding," which suggests that slavery or inequality are in any way inherent to the nation's institutions.
It also banned the concepts of "systemic racism" and "gender fluidity" and forbade teachers from giving students course credit for engaging with "social or public policy advocacy."
Also included in the coalition is Hillsdale College, a private Christian liberal arts school in Michigan that has proposed its own K-12 curriculum, which Vanity Fair notes "has been criticized for revisionist history, including whitewashed accounts of US slavery and depictions of Jamestown as a failed communist colony."
Another participant is PragerU, the overtly partisan and often factually loose YouTube channel that has been tasked with creating children's educational content in nearly a dozen red states.
The group has produced content venerating figures notorious for practicing slavery, like colonist Christopher Columbus and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Its videos have argued, among other things, that climate change is a myth, that European fascism was a "far-left" ideology, and that Israel has "the world's most moral army."
The pro-Trump youth group Turning Point USA will also be involved in crafting the curriculum. Its longtime leader, Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in Utah last week, went on a crusade last year to, in his words, "tell the truth" about Martin Luther King Jr., whom he described as "an awful person," while claiming his signature achievement, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, was a "huge mistake."
An offshoot of Kirk's group, Turning Point Education, said Kirk's assassination has increased its resolve to promote a "God-centered, virtuous education" in US public schools.
The 250 Civics Education Coalition has not yet published a curriculum. But according to the Department of Education, it will be rolling out "a robust programming agenda" over the next 12 months.
During Trump's second term, he has undertaken an effort to purge federal museums and national parks of what one executive order called "improper ideology," which has resulted in the erasure of exhibits and monuments to Black and Native American history. Last month, he lamented that the Smithsonian Museum focuses too much on "how bad slavery was" and ordered a review of the museum's content.
Federal websites, meanwhile, have systematically eliminated many pages that acknowledged the accomplishments of nonwhite historical figures or important events in women's and LGBTQ+ history.
Critics in the education world view Trump's effort to use grants to induce them to adopt his preferred curriculum as an illegal effort to propagandize children.
"The law is clear," said education historian Diane Ravitch in a blog post. "Federal officials are prohibited from seeking to influence or direct curriculum in any way."
Since 1970, the federal government has been barred by law from "any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum" of public schools.
"Civic education is and must be non-partisan," said Ted McConnell, the executive director of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools. "While the funding is long sought, this is the wrong approach and smacks of authoritarianism."
Update: This piece has been slightly updated to better clarify what is understood about the nature of the civics initiative.
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LGBTQ+ Rights Advocates Mourn California Store Owner Killed Over Pride Flag
"This is, unfortunately, what we mean when we say that anti-LGBTQ extremism hurts all of us, whether you are LGBTQ or not," one campaigner said after the death of Lauri Carleton.
Aug 21, 2023
LGBTQ+ rights advocates and allies have expressed heartbreak and outrage since Friday, when Laura "Lauri" Ann Carleton was fatally shot by a man who made disparaging comments about a pride flag displayed at Mag.Pi, her California clothing store.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that deputies found Carleton "suffering from a gunshot wound" at her Cedar Glen shop Friday evening and emergency medical personnel pronounced her dead at the scene. The 66-year-old is survived by a husband and a blended family of nine children, according to her website.
After fleeing the scene on foot, an unnamed male suspect "armed with a handgun" died in "a lethal force encounter" with law enforcement, the sheriff's department said. "Through further investigation, detectives learned the suspect made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton."
As The New York Times reported Sunday:
Ms. Carleton's daughter Ari Carleton, 28, said that her mother was "fearless" and put the needs of others ahead of her own. Ms. Carleton had been a pillar in the community, she added.
When a rare blizzard struck the area this year, Ms. Carleton and her husband, Bort Carleton, converted her shop into a relief center.
"She opened up a free shop where she and my dad just gave out supplies to those in need who had been impacted by the storms," Ari Carleton said in a phone interview on Sunday, adding, "That really sums up who she was as a person."
Ms. Carleton preached "love, acceptance, and equality," her daughter said, and those values were reflected in her store, Mag.Pi, where she carried a collection of personally curated, high-quality, and ethically sourced clothes, and sometimes her own designs.
"I just want the world to remember her for who she was," added Ari Carleton. "And that she passed away in a place that she cherished, doing what she loved and defending something that was so important to her."
Carleton's daughter also noted that multiple people have removed the pride flag outside her mother's shop over the past two years.
Film and television director Paul Feig, whose work includes Bridesmaids and Freaks and Geeks, was a friend of Carleton. He explained on Instagram that she was killed by a "man who didn't like that she had a large pride flag hanging outside of her shop. He ripped it down and when she confronted him about it he shot and killed her."
"We are all devastated for her husband Bort and her family and the LGBTQ+ community, for whom Lauri was such a true ally," Feig said. "Her alleged murderer was later shot and killed by the San Bernardino police and so no longer poses a threat to the community. But this intolerance has to end. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people. Let's all keep moving forward with tolerance and love. Let's not let Lauri's tragic death be in vain."
The shooting sparked several other tributes from local and national organizations as well as rights advocates across the country.
"Lauri did not identify as LGBTQ+, but spent her time helping and advocating for everyone in the community," Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ wrote on Facebook, describing Carleton as a friend and supporter. "She will be truly missed."
Sharing photographs of pride flags and flowers left outside her shop, Mountain Provisions Cooperative
said in part:
In loving memory of our dear friend, mom to many, ally, organizer, entrepreneur, founding member, and soul of our co-op Lauri Carleton.
Lauri was a pillar in our community, an immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice. If you knew Lauri you know she loved hard, laughed often, and nurtured and protected those she cared about. She was a force, she loved to crack jokes, and wanted to live as joyful of a life as possible. We will continue to stand for the values she so selflessly stood for. Her death will not be in vain.
"The tragic, targeted killing of Lauri over the Pride flag displayed at her Lake Arrowhead store was senseless and, unfortunately, part of a growing number of attacks on LGBTQ people and our allies," noted Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, which along with the Anti-Defamation League has tracked over 350 anti-LGBTQ+ threats and attacks this year.
"No one should feel unsafe or be attacked for who they are or for simply supporting the LGBTQ community," Ellis declared. "Lauri's murder is the latest example of how anti-LGBTQ hatred hurts everyone, whether they are LGBTQ or not. We know a supermajority of Americans support LGBTQ people, and this horrific act of violence is not indicative of American values."
National Center for Transgender Equality executive director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen said Monday that "the rainbow flag is a symbol of freedom, love, and hope in the LGBTQ community. In a time when our people are being attacked with anti-LGBTQ laws, rhetoric, and violence around the country, allyship from our non-LGBTQ neighbors is a powerful declaration of love. It should not be dangerous to love your neighbors."
"This is, unfortunately, what we mean when we say that anti-LGBTQ extremism hurts all of us, whether you are LGBTQ or not. Schools lose their teachers. Cities and towns lose their doctors. Families lose their loved ones. Communities lose their friends and neighbors. All of us are harmed whether we realize it or not," the campaigner continued. "Our hearts are with Laura's family and friends, and the LGBTQ community of San Bernardino County."
Many mourners connected rising attacks on the LGBTQ+ community to right-wing media and MAGA Republicans—referring to members of the GOP who have rallied behind former President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan and policies.
"As attacks on LGBTQ+ rights have increased from the right-wing media and MAGA Republicans, so have hate crimes," the gun violence prevention group Giffords said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Laura should still be here."
Education historian Diane Ravitch took aim at Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—one of Trump's challengers for the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination—and Moms for Liberty, a group that opposes LGBTQ+ and racially inclusive school curriculum.
"Homophobic rhetoric by DeSantis and Moms 4 Liberty has deadly consequences. Hate kills," Ravitch wrote on X.
Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who is gay, also weighed in: "Hey GOP lawmakers. Want to know why all your rhetoric about cloth is dangerous? A woman was killed for displaying a pride flag as you fan the flames of hatred to get the votes of extremists. You should be ashamed. Blood is on your lips. Anti-woke is hate."
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said: "This is absolutely horrific. A shop owner has been shot and killed by a man after he criticized the pride flag hanging outside her business. Lauri leaves behind her husband and nine children. This disgusting hate has no place in CA."
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The Public Good: Why I'm Endorsing Maya Wiley for New York City Mayor
The progressive Democratic candidate is a civil rights lawyer whose values and vision align with my own—someone not beholden to billionaires or the powerful real estate industry.
Jun 12, 2021
I endorse Maya Wiley for the Democratic candidate for Mayor of New York City.
There are many candidates in the Democratic primary for Mayor of New York City. Whoever is chosen will be the next mayor because the city is 3/4 Democrat and the Republican field is weak (Michael Bloomberg spent $100 million of his own money to win the mayoralty as a Republican and one of his top priorities was to persuade the state legislature to give him total control of the public schools).
My first choice initially was Scott Stringer, the City Comptroller, who has deep experience as a citywide official. Stringer was endorsed by the United Federation of Teachers because of his strong support for public schools. But his chances began to fade when a woman stepped forward to accuse him of groping her twenty years earlier.
Then two men emerged at the top of the polls: Andrew Yang and Eric Adams. Both have received large donations from GOP billionaires who support more charter schools.
The next top contender was Kathryn Garcia, a longtime city bureaucrat who has competence and experience. She was endorsed by the New York Times and the Daily News. With all of Garcia's plans for change, the one area where she is weakest is education. Thanks to Bloomberg, NYC has mayoral control of the schools. Garcia has promised to lift the cap on charter schools (New York City already has nearly 300), to protect the elite public high schools, and to open more of them. she has shown little or no interest in helping the 88% of students who are in the public schools for which she would be responsible. She is a graduate of the city's public schools, but treats them as an afterthought. For this reason, I cannot support her.
I endorse Maya Wiley. Wiley is a civil rights lawyer whose values and vision align with my own. She is not beholden to billionaires or the powerful real estate industry. In the debates, she shined as a fearless and principled advocate who did not defer to the front runners. She is committed to improving the lives of children, families, and communities. She is opposed to lifting the charter cap. A Mayor with a clear vision can hire outstanding talent to manage the city's huge bureaucracy. What matters most is that she has a clear vision, grounded in a commitment to the public good.
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