Alabama students could soon see some big changes in their social studies classes, including a deeper emphasis on local and world history.

State officials are considering standards, which have not been updated since 2010, that will spread topics like Alabama history, civics, world history and current affairs across more grades. Students will have more time to delve into certain themes and topics, such as civil rights. If approved by the State Board of Education in December, new standards will go into effect in 2026.

Officials said they received feedback from hundreds of parents, teachers and community members who felt current standards were outdated and disjointed and didn’t lend enough time to Alabama history or world events.

“As you know, Alabama has a rich history, and to narrow that down to one course — our feedback said that’s not enough,” committee member Marcia Farabee, who heads curriculum and instruction at Gadsden City Schools, told the board.

Read more: What are Alabama schools required to teach about race, gender?

The committee, led by Geneva City superintendent Ron Snell, presented its final draft of the 2024 Social Studies Course of Study to the state board at a work session Thursday afternoon.

“It’s excellent in terms of scholarship, it’s excellent in terms of its planning, its scope, its sequence, everything, every jot and tittle, is taken care of and has been weighed out,” Snell said.

Among the key changes:

• Alabama history will be spread across third through fifth grade
• A “bridge year” in sixth grade, which looks at early U.S. history through a civics lens
• World history and geography will be spread across seventh through ninth grade
• Schools will have more time to teach events from the 1970s onward
• New electives will focus on local history, the Holocaust and other research topics

Alabama has not updated its social studies standards since 2010. The subject has come under scrutiny in recent years, as other states and school districts have wrestled with how to teach factual history. A number of states, including Alabama, also recently banned teaching or discussion of so-called “divisive topics.”

A 2021 effort to rewrite the standards stalled after the state board passed a resolution banning critical race theory from K-12 schools. At the time, Fordham Institute researcher David Griffith said delaying updates further would be problematic.

Board member Yvette Richardson said she was initially skeptical that African American history would be depicted truthfully in new standards, but praised the committee for going “above and beyond” to ensure the standards were inclusive.

“It takes courage, it takes strength, and it takes integrity,” she said. “So thank you all so much, because we want our young boys and girls to know history for what it is, and not how we want it to be.”

Social studies is taught at all grade levels in elementary and middle school. Currently, Alabama history is a focus in fourth grade and civics education is a focus in seventh grade.

The new standards will not only reconfigure when and for how long units are taught, but also will include more content related to the Holocaust and other aspects of world history that were not previously mandated in 2010 standards.

“We get to see more African, Asian, Indigenous and Latin American history where we haven’t seen it before,” committee member Ebone King, a history teacher at Deshler High School in Tuscumbia, told the board.

“We didn’t lose anything, we just added.”

Arts, science updates

The board also heard about work to rewrite Alabama’s arts education standards, which were last updated in 2017, and received recommendations for new science textbooks.

The arts education framework the committee is working with includes five areas: dance, media arts, music, theater and visual arts. Committee members proposed adding a number of full and half-credit arts courses at the high school level to ensure students are getting a well-rounded arts education.

Members did not discuss science textbook options at the work session, but a full list of submissions can be found here.

The board is expected to vote on the standards and textbook recommendations at its Dec. 12 meeting.

After standards are approved, a textbook committee will be appointed and work throughout 2025 to compile a list for board approval in January 2026. The standards will be implemented statewide during the 2026-27 school year.

If community members have any questions about the standards, they can submit them using the social studies feedback form, here, or the arts feedback form, here.

Those interested in addressing the board about science textbooks should contact Nora Thorington prior to the Dec. 12 meeting at (334) 694-4903. Comments or concerns may also be emailed to Carolyn Jones at [email protected].