McConnell tells Education Department to halt proposed curriculum changes relying on 1619 Project

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is leading an effort by congressional Republicans that demands the Biden administration stop proposed changes to public school curriculum based on the 1619 project, criticized for suggesting the American Revolution was fought to secure slavery. 

McConnell and dozens of other Capitol Hill Republicans purportedly plan to send the undated letter Friday to the Education Department, saying the agency’s proposed rule changes put "ill-informed advocacy ahead of historical accuracy."

"Your Proposed Priorities double down on divisive, radical, and historically-dubious buzzwords and propaganda," McConnell writes in the letter, obtained by Politico. "Americans do not need or want their tax dollars diverted from promoting the principles that unite our nation toward promoting radical ideologies meant to divide us.

"Families did not ask for this divisive nonsense. Voters did not vote for it. Americans never decided our children should be taught that our country is inherently evil."

He also suggests in the letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona that the administration tried to get the change “quietly” through the Federal Register because any legislative effort would have failed. 

The rule changes, or Proposed Priorities, specifically cite the 1619 Project and if approved would tie agency funding to the adoption of 1619-inspired civics and history curriculums, according to Yahoo News. 

The 1619 Project was a 2019 feature in the "The New York Times Magazine." The authors also developed accompanying curriculum already been adopted by several public school systems across the country including New York and California.