The Goldwater Institute announced on June 10 that Arizona’s public universities are not meeting the state’s requirements for American civics education, according to its latest report, Civic Decline: Arizona’s Public Universities Smuggle DEI into Required American Civics Courses.
The report states that courses such as “Sociology of Chicanx and Latinx Communities” and “Theatre and U.S. Democracy” are being used to fulfill civics requirements at Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University. The Goldwater Institute said these courses do not meet the standards set by the Arizona Board of Regents’ American Institutions policy, which mandates rigorous instruction in history, civics, economics, founding documents, and key Supreme Court cases.
According to Timothy Minella, Director of Higher Education at the Goldwater Institute and author of the report, “Arizona’s public universities are failing students by allowing niche courses steeped in DEI to satisfy the state’s robust history and civics requirements. If university leaders won’t fully comply with state requirements, Arizona lawmakers should step in to ensure that students are getting the civics education they need and deserve.”
The institute also noted that the University of Arizona has not implemented the American Institutions policy at all. The statement follows a previous March report from Goldwater Institute criticizing honors colleges at ASU and UA for requiring what it described as ideologically extreme courses.
Further details about these findings can be found in the full Civic Decline report available through the organization’s press release.
