Concerns raised over UC Santa Cruz civics program content

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(The Center Square) – The University of California, Santa Cruz developed The History & Civics Project for California's K-12 schools, with lessons that heavily focus on race and racial identity, according to an investigation by Defending Education.

The lesson plans include anti-racism language and compare the U.S. Capitol events of Jan. 6, 2021, to Ku Klux Klan demonstrations, according to documents from the nonprofit Defending Education. 

The UCSC History & Civics Project describes itself as a regional site for the California History-Social Science Project, providing resources, support and curriculum guidance to educators. 

Its website also says, “High-quality history and civics education is vital to building a more just society and preparing all students to be literate, knowledgeable, and engaged citizens.”

The project offers free lesson plans and resource sets under the theme “Interrogating and Re-Imagining Historical, Artistic, and Literary Representations: Teaching Ethnic Studies,” covering a range of topics for classroom instruction.

One section, titled “Historicizing Race & Whiteness,” includes materials promoting anti-racism concepts, as well as references to The 1619 Project, “racist policing,” and the Movement for Black Lives policy platform.

Several lessons focus on the events of Jan. 6. In one, teachers offer a list of words a class can choose from to “make sense” of Jan. 6, including “mob,” “sedition,” “terrorism,” “insurrection,” or “coup.”

It also links to headlines from various news outlets that suggest additional terms such as “assault on democracy,” “siege,” “invaded” and “unprecedented assault.”

Another lesson created by a kindergarten teacher includes a passage comparing a World War II naval hero to a U.S. Capitol Police officer present during the Jan. 6 events.

At the high school level, lessons compare Jan. 6 to historical events, including the Wilmington massacre of 1898 and Reconstruction. 

"Controversial history absolutely has a place in the classroom, especially for students approaching adulthood who are developing critical thinking skills. But there is a difference between presenting multiple perspectives and engineering a single conclusion,” Paul Runko, senior director of Strategic Initiatives, told The Center Square. 

“Lessons rooted in books like the 1619 Project are widely used in K-12 schools and are designed to produce activists, not educated citizens. Meanwhile, only 22% of eighth-grade students score proficient or above on the national civics assessment. Students who recognize they are being steered toward a conclusion will either accept it uncritically or tune out entirely. Neither outcome serves them well,” Runko said.

North Monterey County Unified School District in California paid UCSC $23,200 between 2024 and 2025 for this program, according to Defending Education. 

The Center Square reached out to UCSC but has not received a response.