“History is the source of all life’s lessons, the good and the bad. We turn to History to see what to embrace and what to avoid,” wrote James S. Robbins in Erasing America: Losing Our Future By Destroying Our Past. Today, America faces a crisis in civic education, as students across the country lack basic knowledge of history, government, and Western Civilization. Iowa is not immune to this challenge.
Recognizing the importance of civic education, Iowa lawmakers took action in 2024 by directing a revision of the state’s social studies standards. Their intent was clear: strengthen instruction in history and government so that Iowa students are better prepared for citizenship.
The new draft standards, while still a work in progress, represent a step forward in some important respects. For example, greater attention is given to content knowledge around the Civil War and Reconstruction—an encouraging improvement. Even among the improvements, though, a serious shortcoming lies in the way the standards describe content. Too much of the language uses the phrase “may include” instead of “must include.”
That small wording choice makes a big difference. When teachers are told material “may” be taught, they are also being told it can be skipped. This “wink and a nod” approach undermines the very purpose of standards: to guarantee that every Iowa student is exposed to essential knowledge. Without clear requirements, we risk continued unevenness in what students learn from one district—or even one classroom—to another.
The draft contains other elements that could also undercut progress. The continued reliance on “Inquiry-Based Learning,” while valuable in certain contexts, too often replaces direct content instruction with vague “skills” exercises. Without a strong base of factual knowledge, such inquiry risks leaving students with fragmented understanding rather than mastery.
In addition, the draft still includes “action civics” prompts that blur the line between civic education and political activity. Schools should prepare students to think critically, engage responsibly, and understand how government works. But encouraging students to participate in political advocacy or equity initiatives as part of their coursework risks turning civics education into practicing a teacher’s preferred politics, rather than ensuring students have first mastered the knowledge they need to engage effectively as citizens.
There are also opportunities to strengthen the focus on liberty, the guiding principle of America’s conception. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other foundational documents need to be presented as core content, with teaching on liberty clearly tied to the development of constitutional self-government and the institutions that preserve freedom.
Similarly, the standards could be clearer in requiring students to develop essential reading and writing skills—tools necessary to evaluate primary sources, analyze history, and prepare for higher education.
Going forward, Iowa has the chance to build on what has been started here. A new draft, refined with input from reform-minded educators and modeled on recent improvements in states like Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Virginia, could ensure that students learn both the content and the skills they need.
Iowa lawmakers deserve credit for taking civic education seriously and recognizing that stronger standards are needed. Now the task is to ensure those standards live up to the promise of preparing young Iowans for informed citizenship. A commitment to liberty, content knowledge, and rigorous skills will help Iowa lead the way in restoring civic education at a time when our state—and nation—urgently needs it.
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