Background

                     In August 2021, the Alabama State School Board passed a resolution banning “divisive concepts,” which included teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Alabama’s public schools, K through 12. In October 2021, Governor Kay Ivey tweeted: “We have permanently BANNED Critical Race Theory in Alabama. We’re focused on teaching our children how to read and write, not HATE.”

               Despite vociferous claims that Alabama classroom teachers do not teach CRT, the Baldwin County Alabama Education Work Team (BCAEWT) has identified CRT and other divisive concepts within many Studies Weekly lessons taught to K-12 public school children in Alabama.

             Our initial team project, completed in late 2022, was an intensive and detailed review of Studies Weekly online lessons for grades 4 - 6, culminating in a detailed report submitted to the publisher of Studies Weekly and the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE). This report was also disseminated widely to other officials in state and local positions and to public interest groups. 

               The BCAEWT full report may be read on “Our Report” tab. The Studies Weekly position statement posted on their website following receipt of our report is available for viewing on “The Response” tab.   

The document below is the complete list of the 2013-2014 Adopted and Rejected Textbooks for Social Studies Instruction by the Alabama State Board of Education. This list is the most recent update to the approved curricula for Social Studies found on their website at AlabamaAchieves.org. This list contains the approved textbooks and supplemental resources for K-12 instruction in Social Studies. If a school wishes to use a textbook not included on this list, they must pay for the resource themselves. Studies Weekly is the only "textbook" approved for K-6 Social Studies instruction in Alabama, in addition to other supplemental materials. 

Additionally, these resources were adopted for use by the state in 2014 based on the 2010 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies. Studies Weekly has revised its "textbook" content multiple times since the state adopted its use. The 2024 Social Studies State Course of Study Committee is currently working on revising the course of study for K-12 Social Studies in Alabama's public schools. Based on the outcome of the committee's work, the state will commence a new textbook approval process and will choose curricula for Social Studies instruction. It is Baldwin County Alabama Education Work Team's mission to eliminate the use of Studies Weekly in all Alabama schools.