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Civics centers will designate courses
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law this week requiring undergraduates at the state’s public schools to take American history courses chosen by local civics centers beginning in fall 2028.
Students at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa will be required to “complete an introductory survey course in American history and an introductory survey course in American government,” according to the bill.
Every year, the Center for Cyclone Civics at Iowa State University and the Center for Civic Education at the University of Northern Iowa must designate courses at their respective institutions, the bill states.
At the University of Iowa, the Center for Intellectual Freedom is the only academic unit permitted to offer courses that satisfy these requirements.
This center was established by the state legislature last year as a “hub for American civics, centered on constitutional thought, foundational debates, and traditional education,” according to its website.
“The center’s mission is to advance top-tier scholarship in areas such as the texts and debates foundational to free societies, the principles and institutions of the American constitutional order, and the foundations of responsible leadership and informed citizenship,” it states.
After the bill passed the House, National Association of Scholars spokesperson Chance Layton told The College Fix he fears that the courses could become “another vector for progressive ideology.”
“Professors that are effective civics and history teachers must care about the history of the nation. Prospective civics and history professors should also utilize Intellectual Freedom Centers,” Layton said.
“The project would fail if the courses were taught by scholar activists and not politically neutral history and civics professors,” he said.
Previously, only 14 states required civics courses to be included in college general education programs, according to a report by the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal.
Author Shannon Watkins previously told The Fix via email she believes that requiring civics courses in college would improve the state of civics education in the U.S.
“Statewide requirements help ensure that a greater number of students are learning key American ideas and principles,” she told The Fix.
Other states that require undergraduates to take civics courses include Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio, among others.
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