National Council for History Education

Founding and History

The National Council for History Education was founded in 1990 as a result of the Bradley Commission report on the teaching of history in schools. Despite the right-of-center Bradley Center’s influence in the founding of the organization, it has become a fully left-of-center institution that advances racial grievance and anti-American history curriculum in recent years. ^{1 2}

Financials

For the fiscal year ending in June 2023, the National Council for History Education reported $1,936,497 in revenue, of which $1,552,610 stemmed from contributions and grants and $356,726 from program service revenue. It reported $1,901,541 in expenses, of which $437,582 were distributed as grants and contributions, $394,866 in salaries and compensation, and $650,345 in travel expenses. It ended the year with a net income of $34,956 and net assets of $448,988. ³

A full 79 percent of NCHE’s revenue for fiscal year 2023 game from government grants, totaling more than $1,535,521. ³Since the organization receives more than $750,000 from the federal government, it is subject to annual audits. For three years these audits have identified concerns and issues of noncompliance that continue to need rectification despite previous plans being put in place to resolve these issues. Noted concerns from the auditors include a lack of compliance with proper reimbursement filing procedures when requesting funds from the federal government such as requesting funds be reimbursed before the expenses had occurred, as well as instances of expenses being filed without the retention of necessary receipts. ^{4 5 6}Over one-third of NCHE’s total expenses for fiscal year 2023 were categorized as travel expenses. ⁷

Organization Philosophy

The National Council for History Education promotes left-of-center views, most notably a divisive racial-identity-focused vision of American history. Past events hosted by the group have featured speakers such as Hasan Jeffries, who claims that racism and white supremacy is at the core of the American nation’s existence and also advocates for tearing down statues of not just Confederate leaders, but also people such as Christopher Columbus, claiming that these statues are symbols that celebrate white supremacy. ^{2 8}

Projects and Initiatives

The National Council for History Education has several projects that work to promote a left-of-center understanding of American history in schools. The group maintains a library of resources for history educators touching on various subjects, with a focus on various “group histories” such as Black history, Hispanic and “Latinx” heritage, and Arab American history. It also provides resources for “advocacy” and uses examples of NCHE statements condemning state legislation to tighten history standards. ^{9 8}

NCHE also provides various professional education and development programs for teachers. Some of these opportunities are funded by the Federal government, such as the Library of Congress. These include both in-person and online seminars and conferences, as well as more specialized curriculum development. ^{10 11}

NCHE hosts an annual conference and also has hosted several “equity summits” that have included controversial speakers such as Hasan Jeffries, who at the 2020 summit advocated for the removal of Christopher Columbus statues. At the 2020 summits a speaker from the Southern Poverty Law Center argued that students are still complicit in slavery unless they take steps to work against alleged discrimination and injustice that carries on to the present day. At the 2024 equity summit, NCHE’s executive director, Jessica Ellison, issued a “land acknowledgement.”  ^{12 2}

Leadership

As of 2025, Jessica Ellison was the executive director the National Council for History Education, a position she has held since December 2022. She has been involved in the group since 2011 when she attended a NCHE conference as an educator. She has presided over the group’s continued left-of-center activism, and notably at a 2024 conference began proceedings with a land acknowledgement. Ellison has also recommended that educators read the controversial book White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo.  ^{13 14 2}