Missouri lawmakers question history curriculum, role of school boards in K-12 education

A committee of Missouri lawmakers heard testimony Tuesday on how history is taught in schools around the state and how school board members interact with the public.

State education officials outlined Missouri's standards for curriculum and how U.S. history and civics are taught in kindergarten through 12th grade. And two college administrators advocated for the state to alter or adopt new curriculum focused on "patriotism" and creating a "virtuous, engaged citizenry." 

Rep. Doug Richey, an Excelsior Springs Republican who chairs the committee, said the hearing was held "in response to current tensions within conversations regarding public education." Around the U.S., elected officials and parents have scrutinized COVID-19 health measures and how race and equity are taught in K-12 schools. In Missouri, districts have been the subjects of lawsuits concerning mask mandates and Sunshine Law requests for documents related to "critical race theory." 

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"It is my assessment that Missouri history education is a bit anemic," Richey said. "We are not teaching it in a way that is as robust as it ought to be."

Lawmakers raised concern that some aspects of U.S. history, such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the era before Reconstruction, were not adequately addressed at the high-school level. They also dug into Missouri's Learning Standards, which broadly outline expectations that schools in the state must meet through a K-12 education.

Officials from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education expressed confidence in those standards as they currently exist. Tracy Hinds, the deputy commissioner for the department of learning services, asked lawmakers to "honor Missouri's status as a local control state."

"Having government censor what is or is not taught is a slippery slope and is one that this body has worked to avoid," Hinds said.

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Two leaders at private universities argued that the state should take note of separate curricula for possible use in Missouri.

Matthew Spalding, the vice president of Washington operations for Hillsdale College, a Christian liberal arts college in Michigan, told lawmakers that schools should "teach the principle and practices of liberty" to "foster a sense of patriotism." Spalding served as executive director of former President Donald Trump's 1776 Commission, which was designed to support "patriotic education" and released a report in January. That report did not include citations or identify its main authors, and was widely criticized by historians. President Joe Biden revoked the report soon after taking office.

Hillsdale College continued its efforts to advance "patriotic education" this year, releasing its own 1776 Curriculum, which Spalding endorsed during his testimony. It is a response to The 1619 Project, a New York Times Magazine project that sought to reframe U.S. history through the lens of slavery and has been the frequent target of conservative ire.

Andrew Bolger, who leads the College of the Ozarks' William S. Knight Center for Character Education, pushed for similar goals in his testimony. He argued that there are "entities within our world who continue to push agendas that are against my values," pointing to communism in particular and saying that "many students have Mao Zedong as a poster on their walls" as a result of certain aspects of education.

The solution, Bolger argued, was education that focused on "liberty's foundation," which was "rooted in hard work and free enterprise." Missouri schools should "cultivate and revive historic American values," he said. The College of the Ozarks has made its stance on patriotism known frequently, removing Nike logos from uniforms to oppose Colin Kaepernick and refusing to play in any sporting event where the opposing team takes a knee, sits or turns its back while the national anthem is playing.

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Role of school board members

Lawmakers also heard testimony from officials in the Missouri School Boards Association. Richey, the committee chair, said it was "important for us to ask some serious questions" about the role of school board members as issues of education continue to remain top of mind. 

Richey and other Republicans argued that school boards in the state were not allowing parents who brought issues to board meetings to be heard and responded to properly. He said boards had created a "culture where somebody who doesn't agree doesn't have the ability to speak freely." 

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Sen. Jill Schupp, a St. Louis Democrat and former school board member, pushed back on that argument, saying that boards had a wide range of responsibilities.

"We do that all the time, we limit people's amount of time (to speak)," Schupp said. "It doesn't mean communication is limited. This is a board trying to do its job."

Officials of the Missouri School Boards Association outlined the training and communication the group has with newly elected members, assuring lawmakers that there was not any "groupthink" among boards. Brandt Shields, MBSA's director of government relations, said that the boards were locally elected and should "customize policy to best meet the needs of the district." 

The Missouri chapter withdrew from the national association last month after it sent a letter to the White House asking for law enforcement to intervene due to a rise in threats against school board members.

Rep. Chuck Basye, a Rocheport Republican, indicated that lawmakers would "discuss some things legislatively related to school boards" in the upcoming January session.

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.