Governor Noem Relaunches Social Studies Standards Process

Gage Skidmore Flickr

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is making changes to social studies courses across her state. In a sudden turnaround, Gov. Noem said she is discarding her administration’s previous standards and changing up who crafts the new ones regarding school’s social studies curriculum.

Fox News reports:

“I have asked the Department of Education to restart the process from the beginning,” Noem, a Republican, said in a press release Friday. “I want to ensure we propose standards that accurately reflect the values of South Dakota.”

“Our kids deserve to learn both America’s and South Dakota’s true and honest history, taught in a balanced context that doesn’t pit our children against each other on the basis of race, sex, or background. More work needs to be done to get this right, and we are committed to seeing that process through.”

Noem’s office said that it’s ending its relationship with consultant Beth Ratway and the C3 framework two controversial influences that raised concerns about left-wing content later surfacing in schools.

Her latest move followed a warning by Stanley Kurtz, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, about Ratway’s influence on the Department of Education as well as what he called the “action-civics-based C3 Framework.”

Kurtz also pointed to Ratway’s video presentation on social justice, which has since been removed from YouTube. Obtained by Fox News via Kurtz, the PowerPoint employs plenty of language reminiscent of controversial equity trainings seen throughout the U.S.

According to a statement from Gov. Noem’s office, the Department of Education will “create a new workgroup of stakeholders to develop standards. This group will propose new social studies standards, and everyone who has expressed concerns will be a part of the process, including Native Americans.


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