{"id":312138,"date":"2026-10-22T19:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T19:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/312138\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T19:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T19:42:09","slug":"philadelphia-to-overhaul-curriculum-amid-congressional-antisemitism-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/312138\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia to overhaul curriculum amid congressional antisemitism probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know search engines like Google are changing the way you see news? Keep Chalkbeat\u2019s valuable education coverage at the top of your feeds by clicking here<\/a> and checking the box next to our name<\/p>\n

Philadelphia plans to overhaul its social studies curriculum developed by district staff that has come under fire from congressional Republicans.<\/p>\n

The district will standardize its curriculum \u201cin partnership with national experts,\u201d according to transcripts of a U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee interview last month with Superintendent Tony Watlington<\/a> released Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The committee\u2019s investigation into alleged antisemitism in Philadelphia<\/a> and two other districts began last year<\/a>, putting schools under scrutiny in a charged political climate<\/a>. Watlington did not say whether the curriculum review was a result of the investigation. But the resulting plan will have ramifications across district schools.<\/p>\n

We’re here to help.<\/p>\n

Every day, Chalkbeat Philadelphia reporters are answering your questions, following the money, and digging into what’s happening in the city’s public schools. Keep up with our free newsletter, delivered every Wednesday and Friday morning.<\/p>\n

Philly\u2019s current social studies curriculum was written by district teachers and administrators. Experts have previously commended it<\/a> for mandating an African American history course<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the House committee\u2019s report alleges the curriculum promotes an \u201cideology justifying violent resistance,\u201d legitimizes \u201cradical groups that incite antisemitism,\u201d and \u201ctrain(s) students to be far-left activists as \u2026 early as second grade.\u201d<\/p>\n

It points to world history lessons on resistance movements, imperialism, settler colonialism, and the philosopher Frantz Fanon as evidence.<\/p>\n

District spokesperson Monique Braxton said in a statement Thursday that the committee\u2019s report \u201cdistorts and mischaracterizes our record.\u201d The district \u201cobjects to the blatantly partisan framing,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

District officials say they intend to have new social studies curriculum materials in use during the 2027-28 school year.<\/p>\n

In the House committee\u2019s transcripts, Watlington said the district\u2019s review of its social studies curriculum began shortly after he appointed a new chief academic officer on July 1. <\/p>\n

Watlington said his plan for social studies is similar to how the district replaced its math, reading, and science curriculum in recent years with nationally vetted materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to sunset individuals in the district writing curricula,\u201d Watlington told the committee. \u201cWe don\u2019t think it\u2019s appropriate, and we think that national experts, quite frankly, are better trained to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The current curriculum was updated beginning in 2022 under the leadership of Ismael Jimenez, the district\u2019s former director of social studies.<\/p>\n

In the interview, House lawmakers pressed Watlington about Jimenez, whom some conservative groups have previously targeted for his political opinions<\/a>. Jewish groups have also criticized Jimenez for how he described the Israel-Hamas war<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Watlington told the committee Jimenez is currently \u201cin a termination proceeding.\u201d <\/p>\n

In a statement Thursday, Jimenez said he stands behind the curriculum he and other educators developed, and has \u201cserious concerns that I am being made a scapegoat.\u201d He added that his termination from the district is \u201cpending.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent years doing serious intellectual work, developing curriculum grounded in historical inquiry, evidence, and civic reasoning,\u201d Jimenez said. \u201cTeaching students about colonialism, resistance, economic inequality, or injustice is not indoctrination. These are essential parts of understanding history and the world we live in.\u201d <\/p>\n

This story has been updated with additional information from the School District of Philadelphia about when it plans to introduce the new social studies curriculum.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Did you know search engines like Google are changing the way you see news? Keep Chalkbeat\u2019s valuable education…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[539,69,71,70,8973,101016,7625,10089,101015],"class_list":["post-312138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-pa","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-philadelphia-school-district","tag-philadelphia-school-district-headquarter","tag-philly","tag-school-district","tag-the-school-district-of-philadelphia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}