I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2858 

To establish and strengthen postsecondary programs and courses in the subjects of traditional American history, free institutions, and Western civilization, available to students preparing to teach these subjects, and to 

other students. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 9, 2005 

Mr. PETRI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish and strengthen postsecondary programs and 

courses in the subjects of traditional American history, 

free institutions, and Western civilization, available to 

students preparing to teach these subjects, and to other 

students. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Higher Education for 

5 Freedom Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Given the increased threat to American 

2 ideals in the trying times in which we live, it is im3 portant to preserve and defend our common heritage 

4 of freedom and civilization and to ensure that future 

5 generations of Americans understand the importance 

6 of traditional American history and the principles of 

7 free government on which this Nation was founded 

8 in order to provide the basic knowledge that is es9 sential to full and informed participation in civic life 

10 and to the larger vibrancy of the American experi11 ment in self-government, binding together a diverse 

12 people into a single Nation with a common purpose. 

13 (2) However, despite its importance, most of 

14 the Nation’s colleges and universities no longer re15 quire United States history or systematic study of 

16 Western civilization and free institutions as a pre17 requisite to graduation. 

18 (3) In addition, too many of our Nation’s ele19 mentary and secondary school history teachers lack 

20 the training necessary to effectively teach these sub21 jects, due largely to the inadequacy of their teacher 

22 preparation. 

23 (4) Distinguished historians and intellectuals 

24 fear that without a common civic memory and a 

25 common understanding of the remarkable individ-
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1 uals, events, and ideals that have shaped our Nation 

2 and its free institutions, the people in the United 

3 States risk losing much of what it means to be an 

4 American, as well as the ability to fulfill the funda5 mental responsibilities of citizens in a democracy. 

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to pro7 mote and sustain postsecondary academic centers, insti8 tutes, and programs that offer undergraduate and grad9 uate courses, support research, sponsor lectures, seminars, 

10 and conferences, and develop teaching materials, for the 

11 purpose of developing and imparting a knowledge of tradi12 tional American history, the American founding, and the 

13 history and nature of, and threats to, free institutions, or 

14 of the nature, history and achievements of western civiliza15 tion, particularly for— 

16 (1) undergraduate students who are enrolled in 

17 teacher education programs, who may consider be18 coming school teachers, or who wish to enhance their 

19 civic competence; 

20 (2) elementary, middle, and secondary school 

21 teachers in need of additional training in order to ef22 fectively teach in these subject areas; and 

23 (3) graduate students and postsecondary fac24 ulty who wish to teach about these subject areas 

25 with greater knowledge and effectiveness. 
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 For purposes of this Act: 

3 (1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi4 ble institution’’ means— 

5 (A) an institution of higher education; 

6 (B) a specific program within an institu7 tion of higher education; and 

8 (C) a non-profit history or academic orga9 nization associated with higher education whose 

10 mission is consistent with the purposes of this 

11 Act. 

12 (2) FREE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘free insti13 tution’’ means an institution that emerged out of 

14 Western Civilization, such as democracy, constitu15 tional government, individual rights, market econom16 ics, religious freedom and tolerance, and freedom of 

17 thought and inquiry. 

18 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

19 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the same 

20 meaning given that term under section 101 of the 

21 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

22 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Education. 

24 (5) TRADITIONAL AMERICAN HISTORY.—The 

25 term ‘‘traditional American history’’ means— 
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1 (A) the significant constitutional, political, 

2 intellectual, economic, and foreign policy trends 

3 and issues that have shaped the course of 

4 American history; and 

5 (B) the key episodes, turning points, and 

6 leading figures involved in the constitutional, 

7 political, intellectual, diplomatic, and economic 

8 history of the United States. 

9 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated to 

11 carry out this act, the secretary shall award grants, on 

12 a competitive basis, to eligible institutions, which grants 

13 shall be used for— 

14 (1) history teacher preparation initiatives, 

15 that— 

16 (A) stress content mastery in traditional 

17 American history and the principles on which 

18 the American political system is based, includ19 ing the history and philosophy of free institu20 tions, and the study of Western civilization; and 

21 (B) provide for grantees to carry out re22 search, planning, and coordination activities de23 voted to the purposes of this Act; and 

24 (2) strengthening postsecondary programs in 

25 fields related to the American founding, free institu-
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1 tions, and western civilization, particularly 

2 through—

3 (A) the design and implementation of 

4 courses, lecture series and symposia, the devel5 opment and publication of instructional mate6 rials, and the development of new, and sup7 porting of existing, academic centers; 

8 (B) research supporting the development 

9 of relevant course materials; 

10 (C) the support of faculty teaching in un11 dergraduate and graduate programs; and 

12 (D) the support of graduate and post13 graduate fellowships and courses for scholars 

14 related to such fields. 

15 (b) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting eligible insti16 tutions for grants under this section for any fiscal year, 

17 the Secretary shall establish criteria by regulation, which 

18 shall, at a minimum, consider the education value and rel19 evance of the institution’s programming to carrying out 

20 the purposes of this Act and the expertise of key personnel 

21 in the area of traditional American history and the prin22 ciples on which the American political system is based, in23 cluding the political and intellectual history and philos24 ophy of free institutions, the American Founding, and 
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1 other key events that have contributed to American free2 dom, and the study of Western civilization. 

3 (c) GRANT APPLICATION.—An eligible institution 

4 that desires to receive a grant under this Act shall submit 

5 to the Secretary an application at such time, in such man6 ner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 

7 prescribe by regulation. 

8 (d) GRANT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall establish 

9 procedures for reviewing and evaluating grants made 

10 under this Act. 

11 (e) GRANT AWARDS.—

12 (1) MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM GRANTS.—The 

13 Secretary shall award each grant under this Act in 

14 an amount that is not less than $400,000 and not 

15 more than $6,000,000. 

16 (2) EXCEPTION.—A subgrant made by an eligi17 ble institution under this Act to another eligible in18 stitution shall not be subject to the minimum 

19 amount specified in paragraph (1). 

20 (f) MULTIPLE AWARDS.—For the purposes of this 

21 Act, the Secretary may award more than 1 grant to an 

22 eligible institution. 

23 (g) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible institution may use 

24 grant funds provided under this Act to award subgrants 
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1 to other eligible institutions at the discretion of, and sub2 ject to the oversight of, the Secretary. 

3 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 For the purpose of carrying out this Act, there are 

5 authorized to be appropriated—

6 (1) $140,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

7 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

8 the succeeding 5 fiscal years.

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