Trump Education Department Launches Civics Revival with TPUSA and Hillsdale College

The Trump administration is taking direct aim at the collapse of civics education in America’s schools and it’s bringing in heavy hitters like Turning Point USA and Hillsdale College to do it.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced on Constitution Day the official launch of the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, a nationwide effort to revive patriotic education and constitutional literacy among students. The coalition will operate in schools and colleges across all 50 states, reminding young Americans not just how the country was founded but why it is worth defending.

“Why don’t these young people love America?” McMahon asked. “Because they don’t know America.”

She’s not wrong. A 2024 Gallup poll found that only 58% of Americans say they are ‘extremely’ or ‘very proud’ to be American, the lowest figure ever recorded. Even more disturbing, 73% of parents now say their children aren’t receiving a proper civics education, according to new data from the America First Policy Institute.

The America 250 Civics Education Coalition includes:

• Turning Point USA, the grassroots movement founded by the late Charlie Kirk

• Hillsdale College, a powerhouse of classical liberal arts and constitutional study

• The Heritage Foundation, PragerU, Claremont Institute, and over 40 other groups

Together, these organizations aim to reintroduce students to the founding principles of America not the distorted narratives pushed by left-wing institutions and “woke” museums.

Among the coalition’s key initiatives:

• The Fundamental Liberties College Speaker Series bringing conservative thought leaders to campuses nationwide

• The Trail to Independence Tour an interactive K-12 program tracking how each state joined the Union

• Classroom toolkits for teachers to integrate historical literacy and pride in America

• Student competitions to reward knowledge of U.S. history and the Constitution

It’s a long-overdue pushback against decades of academic rot and ideological capture.

The murder of Charlie Kirk just one week ago loomed large over the coalition’s launch event in Washington, D.C. Several speakers invoked his legacy, including Hillsdale President Larry Arnn, a fellow member of the 1776 Commission, and TPUSA Chief Education Officer Hutz Hertzberg.

“Though Charlie had an incredible influence, his influence will extend in even greater ways than it did in his life,” Hertzberg said. “That’s why this partnership is so important.”

This movement isn’t just about textbooks and lectures. It’s about reigniting love for the nation and ending the cultural rot that celebrates hatred over heritage.

President Trump first launched the 1776 Commission in response to the far-left 1619 Project, which portrayed America’s founding as nothing more than an exercise in systemic racism. Joe Biden shut it down on Day One.

Now, under Trump’s second term, the effort is back and bigger than ever.

Trump has also ordered the Smithsonian and all federally funded museums to eliminate anti-American exhibits, declaring:

“There’s nothing about success, nothing about brightness, nothing about the future.”

It’s not just rhetoric. It’s policy. And it’s backed by a movement that knows America is worth teaching, defending, and celebrating.

Hillsdale’s Larry Arnn laid it out clearly:

“We are going to lose our nation if we lose its central idea.”

That central idea liberty, self-government, God-given rights has been distorted, diluted, and in many cases, erased entirely from American classrooms.

Arnn warned that America is in its third great crisis, following the Revolution and Civil War. This time, the fight is over the meaning of the Declaration of Independence itself and education, not conflict, is the way to win.

“Learning and freedom go together, and ignorance and slavery go together. We’re going to choose one of those pairs.”

The America 250 Civics Education Coalition is making sure we choose the right one.

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