Christian nationalist advising a Utah lawmaker on a proposed rewrite of the state's K-12 civics education
David Barton has no academic credentials in history or the U.S. Constitution. His book on Thomas Jefferson was pulled from shelves by the publisher for historical inaccuracies. Now he's helping a Utah lawmaker rewrite K-12 civics education standards—but a House committee hit pause on the bill last week.
HB312, originally proposed by Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, would require Utah public schools to repeatedly teach key U.S. founding documents using a “spiral” standard—revisiting the same texts at increasing levels of depth as students advance.
Assisting Ivory with the bill is David Barton, who founded WallBuilders, a Texas-based Christian advocacy group whose goal is to teach Americans about the “true story of America and our Biblical foundation,” according to its website. He argues the separation of church and state is a myth and that the Founding Fathers established the U.S. to be a Christian nation.
He was recently appointed as an expert content advisor to the Texas State Board of Education ahead of that state’s social studies rewrite later this year.
“That's what we really are training these kids for, to be able to inherit this country and be good stewards of this country so that we can go past 250 birthdays, which we're celebrating now,” Barton told the House Education Committee during a hearing last week.
Barton, who describes himself as a "self-taught" historian, has no academic credentials in history or the Constitution. He has been repeatedly accused of making up facts to fit his narrative. His first book, “The Jefferson Lies,” was pulled from shelves by its publisher due to historical details “that were not adequately supported.”
Ivory has extensive ties to Barton and his network. For the second year running, Ivory is partnering with Patriot Academy—run by Barton ally and former Texas legislator Rick Green—to teach “Biblical Citizenship” in a legislative meeting room at the Utah State Capitol on Monday nights during the session. The classes draw heavily on Barton’s writing and argue the U.S. and the Constitution will falter without biblical values. Ivory is listed as a “Constitutional Coach” on Patriot Academy’s site and appeared on Barton and Green’s WallBuilders podcast last year.
In 2024, Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz was a featured speaker at an event sponsored by Patriot Academy and headlined by Green.
HB312 directs the Utah State Board of Education to work with the Civic Thought and Leadership Initiative within Utah Valley University’s Center for Constitutional Studies to write civics standards that require “reading and analyzing the text” of each document, “identifying the principles contained” in them, and “applying the principles of the foundational documents to current events and civic participation.” In practice, that means more class time dissecting original texts—and applying them to modern politics.
The bill explicitly lists George Washington’s Farewell Address as one of the mandatory “foundational documents” for students to study. Barton routinely cites that address, especially the line that “religion and morality are indispensable supports” of “political prosperity.”
The House Education Committee voted to hold the bill last week after determining it needed more work. After that decision, Ivory took to Facebook to voice his displeasure.
“Still can’t believe the House Education Committee voted last night to hold this bill that simply directs that we teach civics in all K-12 grades in an age-appropriate manner…even despite David Barton joining me in the presentation of the bill,” Ivory wrote.
On Friday, Ivory was removed as sponsor of the bill in favor of Rep. Tiara Auxier, R-Morgan. Whether Auxier revives HB312 before the end of the 2026 session is an open question; for now it remains stalled in committee.
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