Educating for American Democracy (EAD) is an organization spun off from a report crafted by numerous major academic institutions at the behest of the federal government regarding how to improve civics education in the United States. The organization’s structure is unknown, though it launched its first round of grants, reaching $600,000, in early 2024.

EAD has been criticized by both left and right-leaning sources for alleged bias and inadequacies in its recommendations.

Educating for American Democracy Roadmap

Educating for American Democracy originates from a 2019 call by the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Department of Education to study how to improve American civics education. ¹

In 2021, a report titled Excellence in History and Civics for All Learners and the Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy was released based on input from over 300 academics and scholars regarding how best to promote civic education in the United States. The Roadmap was primarily funded by the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Department of Education through a grant to iCivics (founded by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor). The program was primarily designed by academics from Harvard University, Tufts University, and Arizona State University. ²

While the Roadmap primarily focuses on nonpartisan civic education, it also includes some references to left-wing social policy concepts. For instance, teachers should “focus on inclusion and equity in both content and approach,” and emphasize that “diversity constitutes a key and indeed exceptional part of our shared national strength.” However, the Roadmap criticizes the handling of diversity in modern civics education as “a steady accumulation of mandates that encourages superficial treatment of all the required topics and creates an incoherent overall narrative,” and characterizes the current paradigm as “a stage of excessive narrowness or false unity.” The Roadmap advocates a new approach to diversity that incorporates non-white perspectives into a more coherent presentation of America’s history and civic structure. ³

According to the report, the federal government spends $50 per student annually on STEM education, but only $0.50 per student annually on civics education. ⁴

The Roadmap’s recommended goals are to implement a Civic Learning Plan in 100,000 schools to be taught by 1 million teachers to reach 60 million students by 2030. ⁵

Grants

In 2024, Educating for American Democracy announced $600,000 in grants as part of a K-5 Pilot Program. The grant recipients were the Wisconsin Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) #1; the Digital Inquiry Group (in cooperating with the Los Angeles Unified School District); the Georgia Council for the Social Studies (in partnership with the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement and the Georgia Department of Education); Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum (in partnership with New York City Public School 51); and the University of Missouri, Saint Louis. The recipients will design curricula for local elementary schools. ⁶

Criticism

A post at right-of-center outlet the Federalist has called Educating for American Democracy a “trojan horse for leftism”: ⁷

“Yes, it contains a few traditionalist elements that deflect the charge of anti-conservatism. Overall, however, the EAD Roadmap circumscribes those elements with identity politics that left-wing teachers can plunder all year long. Here is what EAD really means by ‘inquisitive mindset’: a takedown of heroes, emphasis on victims (women and racial minorities), denial of American exceptionalism, and a focus on the failings of the founding.” ⁸

The author also claimed that there are some topics in the Roadmap which could and should be treated neutrally, but given the left-leaning bias of teachers, will generally lead to left-leaning bias in discussions. For instance, students in grades three to five are encouraged to discuss the question: “How does the U.S. Constitution include all races, gender identities, and marginalized groups?” ⁹

The right-of-center National Review published a piece defending EAD from the Federalist and other conservative critics, arguing that the Roadmap was a generalized framework that “leaves room for choice,” but that there was nothing wrong in concept with a “shared American civic.” ¹⁰

The left-of-center Hechinger Report has criticized the EAD Roadmap for being too vague in its recommendations. It stated, “The historians who developed the Roadmap do not propose any specific historical facts that should be taught to students. They argue that their general Roadmap is meant to ‘inspire and inform’ curriculum and standards authors, and they thus do not endorse any particular curriculum.” As a result, “Requiring every school district to develop its own ‘Civic Learning Plan’ would be both a bureaucratic nightmare.” ¹¹

Funding

Educating for American Democracy is funded by the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Department of Education, the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ¹²

EAD’s website states, “The content of this initiative does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education or the National Endowment for the Humanities, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.” ¹³

Endorsements

Educating for American Democracy’s Roadmap and goals have been endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers, the Aspen Institute, the Bill of Rights Institute, the Civic Education Center, Common Sense, The Education Trust, the League of Women Voters, the National Association of Counties, the National Education Association, the National Urban League, the New York City Department of Education, and the RAND Corporation, among other groups. ¹⁴

The Roadmap has been endorsed by six former U.S. Secretaries of Education. ¹⁵

1. Stoner Jr, James R.; Carrese, Paul O. “What’s So Un-American about a Shared National Civics?” National Review. June 9, 2021. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/06/whats-so-un-american-about-a-shared-american-civics/.
2. “Who is Behind Educating for American Democracy.” Educating for American Democracy. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/#who-is-behind.
3. “Educating for American Democracy.” Educating for American Democracy. 2021. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Educating-for-American-Democracy-Report-Excellence-in-History-and-Civics-for-All-Learners.pdf.
4. “Take Action.” Educating for American Democracy. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/take-action/.
5. “Educating for American Democracy.” Educating for American Democracy. 2021. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Educating-for-American-Democracy-Report-Excellence-in-History-and-Civics-for-All-Learners.pdf.
6. “EAD Awards $600,000 to K-5 Pilot Projects.” Educating for American Democracy. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/newsandevents/in-the-news/.
7. Bauerlein, Mark. “Georgia’s K-5 ‘Social Studies’ Curriculum Is A Trojan Horse For Leftism.” The Federalist. January 29, 2024. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/29/georgias-k-5-social-studies-curriculum-is-a-trojan-horse-for-leftism/.
8. Bauerlein, Mark. “Georgia’s K-5 ‘Social Studies’ Curriculum Is A Trojan Horse For Leftism.” The Federalist. January 29, 2024. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/29/georgias-k-5-social-studies-curriculum-is-a-trojan-horse-for-leftism/.
9. Bauerlein, Mark. “Georgia’s K-5 ‘Social Studies’ Curriculum Is A Trojan Horse For Leftism.” The Federalist. January 29, 2024. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/29/georgias-k-5-social-studies-curriculum-is-a-trojan-horse-for-leftism/.
10. Stoner Jr, James R.; Carrese, Paul O. “What’s So Un-American about a Shared National Civics?” National Review. June 9, 2021. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/06/whats-so-un-american-about-a-shared-american-civics/.
11. Riley, Benjamin; Polikoff, Morgan. “OPINION: The wrong roadmap for teaching American history.” Hechinger Report. May 28, 2021. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-the-wrong-roadmap-for-teaching-american-history/.
12. ^[1] “Funders.” Educating for American Democracy. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/about-us/who-we-are/#1642176215008-2bc3c2d0-45c6.
13. “What is in.” Educating for American Democracy. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/#What-is-in.
14. “Our Champions.” Educating for American Democracy. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/champions/.
15. Riley, Benjamin; Polikoff, Morgan. “OPINION: The wrong roadmap for teaching American history.” Hechinger Report. May 28, 2021. Accessed February 8, 2024. https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-the-wrong-roadmap-for-teaching-american-history/.