REACH Act would put teeth in UNC System’s civics requirements

Americans have navigated centuries of controversy over tariffs, taxes, and many other issues dividing our nation today. The fact that only 19% of colleges and universities require a course on American history and government helps explain current polarization and misconceptions. Present political discourse on these topics could become less hostile and better contextualized if citizens had a fuller understanding of American history.

Many states are working to fix this. Since 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly has been considering the Reclaiming College Education on America’s Constitutional Heritage Act (REACH Act), a bill modeled on a law in South Carolina that mandates that public universities require all students to take a course on American history and government.

The North Carolina legislature should do its part to fight political polarization by passing the REACH Act.

Few of the bill’s critics oppose teaching American history. Instead, they point out that North Carolina already has a requirement, the Foundations of American Democracy policy, set by the University of North Carolina System (which includes 16 state-run colleges and universities) Board of Governors mandating that all students take one or more courses covering the “foundations of American democracy,” including the  “founding documents of the American republic” and “milestones . . . in the effort to form ‘a more perfect union.’”

The trouble is that 11 of the state’s 16 public colleges and universities do not require such a course, despite the board’s mandate. Instead, most evade the policy by designating unrelated courses as compliant. For example, North Carolina State University allows ENG 265 – American Literature I to fulfill the American democracy requirement. Though most likely an excellent literature course, surveying “such central authors as Edwards, Franklin, Irving, Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, Poe, Stowe, Douglass, Thoreau, and Whitman,” it certainly does not cover the foundations of American democracy.

It seems likely that most colleges and universities are not defying the policy because they object to teaching American history, but because they prefer not to restructure their existing programs. Elizabeth City State University, for instance, copied part of the UNC board’s policy verbatim into the existing course description of HIST 141 – Making of the Modern World. Its first sentence states, “This course surveys the political, economic, social, and intellectual history of American, African, European, and Asian cultures and societies from 1500 CE to the present.” This course clearly does not focus on American democracy.

The question is whether passing the REACH Act would lead the state’s universities to require a true American history and government course. The success of South Carolina’s own REACH Act suggests it would: 10 of its 12 public colleges and universities comply. Unlike the UNC System’s requirement, South Carolina’s law includes provisions for monitoring compliance. Accordingly, Clemson University adopted a nine-page “REACH Act Course Review Process,” which instructs faculty to highlight required reading on a draft syllabus and outlines an annual process to verify compliance.

This has resulted in sound courses like HIST 1010 – History of the United States and POSC 1010 – American National Government. These classes replaced a 90-minute video, Clemson’s only civics requirement prior to the implementation of the REACH Act. Though two of South Carolina’s public universities still grant students credit for unsatisfactory courses — unsurprisingly, they drafted weak compliance documents — the REACH Act has ensured more students will learn about history and civics.

As it became clear earlier this year that most of North Carolina’s public colleges and universities were failing to require an adequate course on American democracy, legislators reintroduced the REACH Act in the state House of Representatives. Like South Carolina’s law, the North Carolina REACH Act requires regular reporting. Legislators could improve on South Carolina’s version by specifying that compliance policies be as thorough as Clemson’s. The bill also could encourage universities to include a civil discourse component in the course. Learning how to disagree without hostility prepares college students to have informed, respectful debates on controversial issues.

North Carolina can help restore a culture of reasoned debate by passing the REACH Act.

This piece was originally published by The Carolina Journal on December 10, 2025.