The article didn’t provide credible evidence that the measure would 'buy off' states and relied heavily on prediction.

When we asked DeSantis about his claim, spokesperson Christina Pushaw said there is 'extensive evidence' that the Biden administration is promoting 'ideological indoctrination,' pointing to an article from the National Review, a conservative magazine. 'There is no precedent for the federal government to mandate state education curriculum, and it is not clear that the federal government has the authority to do that even if it tried.' 'There is no truth to the claim that the proposed Civics Secures Democracy Act is a backdoor effort to mandate the teaching of critical race theory,' Shultz said. Department of Education 'will lack any administrative authority to create rules to mandate a curriculum.' DeSantis’ argument ignores a provision in the bill that reads: 'Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the Secretary of Education to prescribe a civics and history curriculum.'ĭavid Shultz, professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University, told PolitiFact that if the bill becomes law, the U.S. The legislation was introduced in June by a bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and John Cornyn of Texas, Democrats Chris Coons of Delaware and Mark Kelly of Arizona, and independent Angus King of Maine.ĭeSantis and other Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have condemned the bill, suggesting it will give the federal government the financial backing to compel states to adopt critical race theory.Ĭornyn defended the legislation from Republican criticism, tweeting on June 20 that such claims are 'hysterical' and 'not a serious discussion of our bill.'įurther, the evidence tying the Civics Secures Democracy Act to critical race theory is rife with speculation. The bill doesn’t provide a financial incentive for states to adopt critical race theory The bill would authorize the education secretary to make grants to support educational programs in civics. PolitiFact found that DeSantis’ portrayal was inaccurate.

We wondered whether DeSantis was right that the legislation provides $6 billion to states that incorporate critical race theory, a broad set of ideas about systemic bias and privilege, into their curricula. If passed, the Civics Secures Democracy Act, introduced with bipartisan support in 2022, will prioritize civics education and devote $1 billion annually to bolster the effort. 'These efforts all come as Congress considers the misleadingly titled ‘Civics Secures Democracy Act,’ which would allow the Biden Administration to buy off states with $6 billion if they sacrifice American History for Critical Race Theory and Biden’s other political whims of the day,' DeSantis said in a press release on June 30. In a press conference, DeSantis hailed the state’s improving test scores on civics and history and contrasted Florida’s approach - which included contentious civics training for educators - with the Biden administration’s 'ideological agenda.'

Ron DeSantis criticized President Joe Biden for what he said were attempts to 'indoctrinate students' with critical race theory.

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