PAMELA BENIGNO
Director
Email: Pam@i2i.org
Phone: 303-279-6536 x115
REGINA COMPOSANTO
Research Associate
ROSS IZARD
Senior Fellow
Independence Institute’s Education Policy Center hosts school board candidate policy briefings in various locations each school board election cycle. In 2025, the 90-minute briefings took place in Loveland, Colorado Springs, Denver, and virtually. School board candidates from 39 different school districts attended the briefings. Attendees learned about foundational policy information, education statistics, and about controversial issues.
For more information, don’t hesitate to contact Pam Benigno.
Biennially, we update a policy issue handbook for school board members or for others who want to learn about K-12 policy issues. Below is the 2025 edition.
The following publications are for school board members who want to gain more depth on issues such as school authorization, curriculum transparency, the Science of Reading, career and technical education, charter schools, and more.
Family-friendly District Policies Passed in Colorado
Read about the history behind Colorado’s charter school law.
The Colorado State Board of Education adopted new social studies standards in 2022. Significant changes to the standards were required by Colorado House Bill 19-1192. Guaranteed by the state Constitution, Colorado’s local school district boards of education have final authority over what is taught in district schools. The following resources, recommended by Independence Institute, provide districts and schools with model standards and/or curricula that face the unvarnished history of America but also focus on its accomplishments and foster unity. Please contact Pam Benigno, director of Independence Institute’s Education Policy Center, for more information. You can contact Pam at Pam@i2i.org.
American Birthright: The Civics Alliance’s Model K-12 Social Studies Standards
American Birthright standards can be used to develop district or school social studies standards and curricula that teach American students about their birthright of liberty.
Video: Civics Alliance Executive Director Dr. David Randall shares the fundamentals of American Birthright with school board members.
1776 Unites offers K-8 and high school curriculum that tells the stories of black Americans whose tenacity and resilience enabled them to overcome adversity and make invaluable contributions to our country.
Video: Learn more about 1776 Unites.
Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR) offers model standards, curriculum, and professional development to support education that advances fairness, understanding, and humanity. Explore FAIR’s education webpages to discover a wealth of classroom resources.
Video: Learn about what it means to be Pro-human. (One of the numerous videos on the FAIR website.)
The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum is a complete collection of lesson plans for teaching American history, civics, and government to K-12 students.
Listen to Constitutional Scholar Rob Natelson answer the question: Is the U.S. Constitution racist?
Published by the Civics Alliance, the History of Communism Model State Standards provides a guideline for high school teachers to integrate the history of communism into social studies courses.
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We educate and inform citizens, legislators, opinion-makers and the media about Freedom: individual Freedom, economic Freedom and journalistic Freedom. Since 1985, we’ve put ideas into action through groundbreaking legislation, coalition-building, ballot initiatives and investigative reporting. We are dedicated to advancing policy that protects and advances Freedom.
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