House Bill 198 Resource Development Update

On June 17, 2021, Governor John Carney signed House Bill 198, legislation that requires every Delaware school district and charter school serving K-12 students to provide instruction on Black history as part of all educational programming beginning in the 2022-23 academic year.  

DDOE's Role and Responsibilities

The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) has a process in place for reviewing and assessing all work to be done on every education related bill that passes the General Assembly.  Our DDOE team meets internally to review each bill, and works together towards addressing and implementing all items concerning DDOE, including seeking external assistance and timelines. 

During the internal meeting, DDOE staff reviewed work already completed by the Department since House Bill 198's passage and the sections under DDOE purview:

1. Develop and make publicly available a list of resources to assist a school district or charter school in creating Black History curricula (lines 46 – 56),
2. accept contact name and a report from each LEA (Local Education Agencies) annually (lines 58 – 61),
3. use that information to submit a written report annually to the GA (General Assembly) (lines 65-66),
4. and adopt regulations to implement and enforce this section (lines 69-70).

DDOE has a detailed plan to address number 1.  Although curriculum is determined by the districts and charters, DDOE - in collaboration with the Social Studies Coalition of Delaware (SSCD) made up of district and charter leads - continues to work to make available a list of resources to assist LEAs by procuring culturally responsive and inclusive high-quality instructional materials with partners through an RFP (Request for Proposal) process for the following grades/courses aligned to the Delaware State Social Studies Standards:

• Grades K-3 – Social Studies (all subject areas in each grade)
• Grade 4 - Civics and U.S. History (1491 – 1783)
• Grade 5 - Economics and Geography
• Grade 6 - World Geography
• Grade 7 - Civics and Economics
• Grade 8 - U. S. History (1783 – 1877)
• Grade 11 - U.S. History (1877 – 2002)

*Please note, since there is no consistency across LEAs in the sequence of courses in HS, grades 9 (Civics and Geography), 10 (Economics), and 12 (World History) are not listed in the RFP scope of this work.

To address number 2, DDOE has accepted the contact names from each LEA for the 2022-2023 school year.  That contact information can be accessed here.

For number 3,  LEAs will be asked to submit a report to the DDOE contact.  DDOE will also provide a format for the report so the information received is consistent. DDOE’s responsibility is to collate the information received from LEAs, put the data into a singular report, and submit that report to the Governor, the members of the General Assembly, and the Director of the Division of Research no later than January 15 or each year.

For number 4, DDOE has determined no action is needed to adopt regulations since the purpose of the bill is clearly outlined in code.   

Status/Scheduled Work

DDOE has worked to address its role of developing and making publicly available a list of resources to assist a school district or charter school in creating Black History curricula through the lens of Culturally Responsive Education.

Below is the status of the HB 198 implementation work as of November 2021.

• For Grades K-3, DOE and SSCD is working collaboratively to research tools for LEAs to use to evaluate culturally responsive curriculum materials.
• SSCD and DDOE engaged in an RFP process for Geography (Grade 6) and US History (Grades 8, 11) and work is currently underway.
• SSCD and DDOE contracted with the University of Delaware (UD) for Civics and History (Grade 4) and Economics (Grade 7).

Work with NYU Metro Center

As an additional support, DDOE has contracted with New York University's Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools (aka NYU Metro Center) to serve as a co-architect on culturally responsive curriculum as well as conduct Listening Sessions with students, LEAs, and non-governmental organizations to engage with education and community review committees as outlined in HB 198.

Stakeholder Listening Sessions

To ensure that all represented voices are heard, NYU Metro Center facilitated a series of sessions to capture diverse perspectives and points of view from communities across the state to inform the curricular resources being developed by the University of Delaware and Delaware State University.  These sessions were conducted virtually with educators, students, and community groups. 

Culturally Responsive - Sustaining Education (CR-SE) Professional Learning

NYU Metro Center conducted a series of three, full-day workshops for UD and DSU curriculum writers.

• Session 1: What are the principles of culturally responsive education? 
• Session 2: How does culture, implicit bias and racial identity impact our educational practices and policies?
• Session 3: Culturally Responsive Education & Social Studies Curriculum 

For the 2022-2023 school year, DDOE and the SSCD have contracted with the NYU Metro Center to provide eight, full-day workshops for a cohort of social studies instructional leaders from school districts and charter schools from across the state. The training will focus on:

• Developing a common language around culturally responsive education based on the NYSED Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education framework
• Examining the role that race, social identities, power, and privilege play in shifting individual and systemic inequalities in schools
• Identifying culturally responsive education school and classroom practices
• Developing competency around using NY Metro Center's Culturally Responsive Curriculum Toolkit
• Developing local capacity for facilitating and expanding the work of culturally responsive education in Delaware's social studies classrooms

Support for Implementation

In addition to developing a list of curated resources, DDOE provides ongoing support to districts and charter schools as they develop their plans to implement the requirements of HB 198. Those supports include:

• Support for the Social Studies Coalition of Delaware (SSCD) - At the SSCD’s monthly meetings, the DDOE shares information, resources, and planning tools that district and charter school members can use in the development of local HB 198 implementation plans. At the SSCD’s bi-weekly PLC meetings, DDOE collaborates with SSCD members as they work through various stages of implementing HB 198 in their district or charter school. 
• Support for District and Charter School Curriculum Leadership - At monthly Communication and Collaboration Network (CCN) meetings, DDOE shares information, resources, and planning tools that district and charter schools can use in the development of local HB 198 implementation plans.In partnership with educational stakeholders, DDOE also facilitates opportunities for districts and charter school leadership to share best practices, work underway, and lessons learned on their HB 198 implementation journey. Such opportunities include the HB 198 Leadership Session on September 21, 2022 and the HB 198 Sharing Sessions held on May 4, 2022 and October 19, 2022 provided by DDOE and Delaware Association for School Administrators (DASA).

• Support for Schools and other Educational Organizations - DDOE provides schools and other organizations involved in public education with guidance, information, and resources related to HB 198. Those supports have included presentations to organizations (e.g. Delaware State Educators Association), school-level teacher PLC and department meetings, and school and district administrative team planning and collaboration sessions.

Contact Us

For additional information on Culturally Responsive Resources, please email Michael Feldman.