On September 17, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education unveiled a sweeping new initiative placing "patriotic education" at the center of federal grant priorities, marking a dramatic shift in how American history and civics will be taught in schools across the nation. The move, which comes as the country approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, is already sparking intense debate among educators, historians, and advocacy groups, many of whom warn of long-lasting consequences for how young Americans understand their country’s past.
According to the Department of Education, the initiative is designed to present American history "in a way that is accurate, honest, and inspiring," with the stated goal of cultivating civic responsibility and national pride among students. "Patriotic education presents American history in a way that is accurate, honest, and inspiring," the department said in a statement on Wednesday. Officials argue that this approach will help foster a deeper sense of civic duty and appreciation for the nation’s founding ideals.
The announcement follows an executive order signed by President Trump in August 2025, which tightened federal grant approvals and placed oversight in the hands of political appointees. This change means that decisions about which programs receive federal funding will now be subject to closer scrutiny by officials aligned with the administration’s priorities. Grant applications opened on September 18, setting the stage for a nationwide contest over the content and direction of American history education.
Central to the rollout is the formation of a new civics education coalition, known as the 250 Civics Education Coalition. This group, comprised of more than 40 organizations closely aligned with Trump’s political movement, will be responsible for implementing programs that adhere to the new patriotic framework. The coalition includes well-known conservative groups such as PragerU, Hillsdale College, and Turning Point USA, all of which have been outspoken advocates for a revisionist and celebratory view of U.S. history.
In a parallel move, the Trump administration redirected $137 million originally earmarked for programs serving minority students toward this new vision of American history and civics education. According to Common Dreams, the Department of Education announced that the funds would be distributed as discretionary grants to K-12 schools, supporting the development of new civics curriculum and programming over the next year. The America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a MAGA-aligned think tank with deep ties to Trump’s political apparatus, is leading the initiative. AFPI has received over $1 million from the Save America PAC and has been responsible for staffing key positions in Trump’s second administration.
The coalition’s model legislation, presented in 2022, calls for students to spend significant time studying the nation’s founding documents and figures, while explicitly banning the teaching of what it terms "defamatory history." This includes prohibitions on lessons that suggest slavery or inequality are inherent to American institutions, as well as bans on the concepts of systemic racism and gender fluidity. Teachers are also forbidden from awarding course credit for engagement in social or public policy advocacy, further narrowing the scope of classroom discussion.
Critics have been quick to denounce the initiative as a dangerous form of revisionism and a threat to academic freedom. Education columnist Jennifer Berkshire, writing in The Baffler, recalled the Trump administration’s earlier 1776 Report, which 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." The new effort, she argues, appears to follow a similar trajectory, prioritizing a "unifying and uplifting portrayal of the nation's founding ideals" at the expense of a more nuanced and honest reckoning with the past.
Among the coalition’s most prominent members is PragerU, an organization known for producing educational videos that have drawn criticism for factual inaccuracies and for venerating controversial historical figures such as Christopher Columbus and Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Hillsdale College, another participant, has faced scrutiny for its 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." Turning Point USA, led until recently by the late Charlie Kirk, has also been tapped to help craft the curriculum. Kirk was known for his outspoken views, including the claim that Martin Luther King Jr. was "an awful person" and that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was "a huge mistake." His assassination last week has, according to Turning Point Education, only strengthened the group’s resolve to promote a "God-centered, virtuous education" in public schools.
The America First Policy Institute, which employed current Education Secretary Linda McMahon until 2023, has come under fire for its lack of experience in education policy and for potential conflicts of interest. McMahon signed an ethics waiver allowing her to oversee the program despite her previous role at AFPI. Other participants in the coalition include Stephen Miller’s America First Legal and Moms for Liberty, organizations known for their conservative and often controversial stances. Critics argue that the inclusion of these groups signals an intent to use the initiative as a vehicle for advancing a partisan agenda rather than fostering genuine civic understanding.
The broader context of the initiative is equally contentious. Since 2023, the Trump administration has undertaken efforts to purge federal museums and national parks of exhibits and monuments related to Black and Native American history. Last month, Trump ordered a review of the Smithsonian Museum’s content, lamenting that it focuses too much on "how bad slavery was." Federal websites have also systematically removed pages acknowledging the contributions of nonwhite historical figures and events in women’s and LGBTQ+ history.
Legal experts have raised concerns about the federal government’s role in directing curriculum, noting that since 1970, federal law has prohibited officials from seeking to influence or control public school curricula. "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." Ted McConnell, executive director of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, echoed these concerns, stating, "While the funding is long sought, this is the wrong approach and smacks of authoritarianism."
Proponents of the initiative, however, argue that the new approach is necessary to counter what they see as a pervasive negativity in current history education. Linda McMahon, speaking on behalf of the Department of Education, stated that the goal is to advance education that "emphasizes a unifying and uplifting portrayal of the nation's founding ideals" as the country prepares to celebrate its semiquincentennial.
With grant applications now open and a "robust programming agenda" set to roll out over the next 12 months, the battle over patriotic education is just beginning. Educators and civic organizations across the country are bracing for what could be a fundamental reshaping of American history instruction, one that may shape the civic understanding of millions of students for decades to come. The stakes, as both supporters and critics recognize, could not be higher.
As the nation heads into its 250th year, the debate over how to teach its story has never felt more urgent—or more divisive.
