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United States · Bill · HR

H.R. 703 (118th)

Black History is American History Act

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

1 February 2023

Last action

1 February 2023 · Introduced

Status

Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Sponsors

Joyce Beatty, Nikema Williams, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robin Kelly, Stacey Plaskett, Emanuel Cleaver, Shontel Brown, Gregorio Sablan, Lois Frankel, Jerrold Nadler, Rep. Auchincloss, Jake [D-MA-4], Terri Sewell, Eleanor Norton, Jamaal Bowman, Henry Johnson, Raúl Grijalva, Glenn Ivey, Suzanne Bonamici, Kweisi Mfume, Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10], Stephen Lynch, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Grace Meng, Nanette Barragán, Jahana Hayes, Pramila Jayapal, Jasmine Crockett, Al Green, Barbara Lee, Lucy McBath, Gwen Moore, Ayanna Pressley, Marilyn Strickland, Emilia Sykes, Bennie Thompson, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Lauren Underwood, Diana DeGette, Troy Carter, Kathy Castor, Maxwell Frost, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Gregory Meeks, Joe Neguse, Donald Payne

Subjects

Education

Source updated

21 July 2025

Education

Official sourceDownload fileView documentsShare

Summary

Black History is American History Act This bill requires entities (e.g., institutions of higher education, libraries, and museums), in order to be eligible for certain grants administered by the Department of Education (ED), to include Black history in their teaching of American history. It also requires Black history to be included in tests administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Specifically, the bill mandates the inclusion of Black history as a required component of American history for such entities to be eligible for American History and Civics Academies' competitive grants. These grants support the establishment of (1) Presidential Academies for Teachers of American History and Civics, which offer workshops to teachers of American history and civics to strengthen their knowledge and prepare them to teach in these subjects; and (2) Congressional Academies for Students of American History and Civics, which support high school students in developing an understanding of these subjects. (Currently, Black history is not a required component of American history for either academy.) In addition, ED must give priority to grant applicants that align their activities with programs and resources of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture. The bill also requires the inclusion of Black history in tests administered by the NAEP, which measures student academic achievement in various subjects.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 1 February 2023

    Introduced

    Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 1 February 2023

    Introduced

    Introduced in House

    Source: IntroReferral

  3. 1 February 2023

    Introduced

    Introduced in House

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

3 official files

Introduced in House (text)

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Sponsors

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Related records

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Sources

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