The Secret Conservative Scholar Who's Shaping GOP Education Policy
Have you heard of Stanley Kurtz? No? Well, you're not alone. But this little-known conservative scholar has been quietly shaping the right's recent offensives in the education culture wars, particularly when it comes to civics education.
Kurtz has spearheaded a campaign to cleanse classrooms of what he calls "woke civics," arguing that hands-on civics lessons, such as students writing to their legislators, will lead to "school-sponsored indoctrination and political action in support of progressive policy positions." In other words, he's worried that "frothing-at-the-mouth Democratic teachers [could] create little warrior bands of students to go out and fight their political wars for them."
But here's the thing: Kurtz's arguments amount to a fabricated "boogeyman," according to Derek Black, a University of South Carolina law professor. There's simply no evidence that liberal bias in civics classes has become a widespread problem. Nonetheless, Kurtz's depiction of "woke civics" is now being felt in America's classrooms.
At least eight bills proposed in five states have pulled from Kurtz's 2021 "Partisanship Out of Civics" model legislation, according to a PEN America report, making the scholar one of the key thought leaders driving the recent surge in classroom censorship bills. And his advocacy in Texas led to the 2021 passage of an unprecedented state law banning assignments that involve "direct communication" between students and their federal, state or local lawmakers.
The problem with Kurtz's approach is that it undermines the very purpose of civics education. The central philosophy of "action civics," which Kurtz opposes, is that "students learn civics best by doing civics." In this approach, students learn to navigate local government by picking an issue they care about, studying it and presenting their findings to officials. It's a hands-on, real-world approach that prepares young people for active citizenship.
But Kurtz would rather students not engage in political protest or lobbying at all. He believes such activities should be done by students outside of school hours and independently of any class projects or grades. This is a narrow and misguided view of what civics education should be.
Kurtz's influence is not limited to the classroom. His writings are regularly shared by GOP heavy hitters, including Fox News analysts, groups like Parents Defending Education and sitting U.S. senators. And when U.S. Senators Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, and John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, introduced a bill in June 2022 to expand grants for civics education, Kurtz was quick to sound the alarm.
In a National Review op-ed, Kurtz claimed the bill would "allow the Biden administration to push Critical Race Theory (CRT) on every public school in the country," calling the Republican co-sponsors "naive" victims of a hidden leftist agenda. This set off a firestorm of criticism from the right, with groups like 1776 Action and America First Policy Institute publishing dire reports pulling directly from Kurtz's article.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis even got in on the act, stating in a press release that the $1 billion federal civics bill would "award grants to indoctrinate students with ideologies like Critical Race Theory." This is despite the fact that there is no evidence that the bill would do any such thing.
Kurtz's influence on GOP education policy is troubling. His narrow view of civics education undermines the very purpose of teaching young people how to be active citizens in a democracy. It's time for lawmakers to reject his misguided ideas and focus on providing young people with the tools they need to participate fully in our democracy.
The Conservative Scholar Who Convinced GOP Lawmakers Civics Conceals CRT – The 74 https://www.the74million.org/article/the-conservative-scholar-who-convinced-gop-lawmakers-civics-conceals-crt/