Reynolds signs HF 2545, directing Iowa State Board of Education to revise K-12 social studies standards toward Western civilization and founding philosophies

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed House File 2545 on May 15, 2024, at a Jewish community center in Davenport. The law directed the Iowa State Board of Education to revise K-12 social studies standards with a focus on U.S. history, founding philosophies and principles, important historical figures, Western civilization, and civics. HF 2545 also required instruction on "the crimes against humanity that have occurred under communist regimes since 1917" and directed the creation of a task force to develop the revised standards. Reynolds simultaneously directed Iowa's public universities to eliminate all DEI positions and related contracts, coordinating the state-level rollback across K-12 and higher education in a single legislative cycle.