Overview:
The piece warns that Florida’s adoption of the Heritage Foundation’s Phoenix Declaration poses a serious ideological threat to public education by promoting cultural assimilation, student blame without educator responsibility, and white-supremacy-aligned values under the guise of “civic virtues,” signaling a troubling national precedent.
Florida recently became the first state in the nation to adopt The Phoenix Declaration: An American Vision for Education, a statement of principles for education in America by the conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation.
At first glance this manifesto seems harmless; after all, who doesn’t want access to a “high-quality, content-rich education?” On closer examination, however, the Declaration espouses troubling turns of phrase that echo cultural erasure, student accountability without educator responsibility, and white supremacy norms that rankle me as a former public school teacher. As Floridians, we should all be concerned.
The Declaration mentions the need for schools to “transmit culture” four times. But here’s the thing: the United States has a documented history of using schooling as a tool for forced assimilation, including violent attempts to erase Indigenous cultures. For example, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, founded in 1879 in Pennsylvania, was the first off‑reservation federal boarding school for Native children, including children barely out of the toddler stage. By the time it closed in 1918, about 7,800 children from over 140 Tribes had been forcibly assimilated there, enduring cultural erasure, harsh discipline, and even death. These boarding schools were a concerted effort to “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.” And this was not an isolated case. With history like this, such statements about transmitting culture, especially in a school setting, feels ominous.
Another section of the Declaration, titled “Character Formation,” covers student behavior and prompts more questions. It states that “Students must be held accountable for their behavior, both to learn that their choices have consequences and to maintain the order necessary for learning to proceed.” If schools focus only on student accountability without taking into account the educator’s responsibility in shaping learning environments, then we’re leaving the cultivation of these environments to children whose brains are still developing. The brain doesn’t even finish developing until we’re in our mid- to late-20s. So how can we expect people with an undeveloped prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for good decision making) to be responsible for their learning environments? Learning succeeds not only through “order” but through positive relationships, coaching, and instructional support. The absence of these components is a serious red flag.
Then, there’s the call for teaching civic virtues, which occurs nine times throughout the document. The Declaration states that “Schools should teach students the civic virtues and civic knowledge necessary for self-government and the task of building a more perfect union, including the value of civil disagreement.” That last clause definitely gives me pause. The framing is eerily similar to the white supremacy concepts of the “right to comfort” and “fear of (open) conflict.” The former teaches that those in power are entitled to emotional ease and shifts blame onto individuals who highlight issues (like racism) instead of addressing the underlying problems. “Fear of (open) conflict” frames the expression of difficult truths as impolite or unacceptable, and discourages or punishes individuals for speaking honestly about their experiences. And in both cases, those in power ignore the harm being caused. What a troubling lesson to impart on children.
As if the content was worrisome enough, the document is spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation. That’s the institution behind Project 2025, the right wing playbook that the Trump administration is using to inform his controversial policies. Consider that Hans A. von Spakovsky, one of the authors of Project 2025, has said that “It is just plain wrong to claim that the children born of parents temporarily in the country as students or tourists are automatically U.S. citizens: They do not meet the 14th Amendment’s jurisdictional allegiance obligations.” Knowing this context only deepened my skepticism.
I suspect this won’t stop with Florida; that it is only a matter of time before other states consider adopting this document into their public education systems. But is this really the kind of ideology we should be imparting on children? The answer should be a resounding no.
I recall that when Florida officials first announced that they’d adopted the Phoenix Declaration, a member of the drafting committee said “Like the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes of its former self, we envision an education system that emerges stronger and more vibrant…” Well, given the historical weight and ideological connections behind this effort, the Phoenix Declaration should be tossed on the ash heap instead of celebrated as a rebirth.
Kamye Hugley is a former public school educator and a Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project in partnership with the National Black Child Development Institute
