Regards model curriculum for world history

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 799

2025-2026

Representatives Williams, Sims

Cosponsors: Representatives Thomas,
C., Synenberg, Jarrells, Willis, Thomas, D., Gross, Daniels, Deeter,
Odioso, Ritter, Salvo, Hiner, King, Klopfenstein

To
enact section 3301.0722 of the Revised Code
regarding
model curriculum for world history that includes ancient African
civilizations and global influence.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
section 3301.0722 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec.
3301.0722.
(A)
The general assembly finds and declares all of the following:

(1)
The teaching of world history in Ohio's schools must reflect the full
and accurate story of human civilization, including the significant
contributions of African peoples and cultures throughout recorded
history.

(2)
Black history does not begin in the year 1619, nor is it defined
solely by the period of enslavement or oppression that followed.
Before the transatlantic slave trade, Africa was home to some of the
world's most advanced civilizations and societies that gave rise to
powerful kingdoms and empires, great centers of learning, and
achievements in writing, mathematics, architecture, astronomy, and
governance that influenced cultures across Europe, Asia, and the
Middle East.

(3)
The civilizations of Mali, Songhai, Ghana, Nubia, Kush, Axum,
Carthage, Great Zimbabwe, and the Moorish dynasties of north Africa
and Spain played vital roles in the development of global trade,
science, philosophy, and religion. The histories of these African
nations and peoples are inseparable from the broader history of the
world.

(4)
It is imperative that Ohio students are taught a comprehensive black
world history curriculum that recognizes Africa's central place in
world civilization and introduces students to the diverse heritage of
black peoples across the globe. This curriculum shall include
instruction on the historical, cultural, scientific, and political
contributions of African and African-descended peoples before,
during, and after the transatlantic slave trade. This education will
promote literacy, civic understanding, and respect for the shared
human story that unites all people.

(B)
The department of education and workforce shall develop a model
curriculum for instruction in world history that includes all of the
following:

(1)
Ancient African civilizations and global influence, which shall
include instruction on all of the following:

(a)
Ancient Egypt and Nubia, including an emphasis on Nubia's role as
both a rival and successor kingdom to Egypt;

(b)
Carthage and Hannibal Barca, including north Africa's military and
maritime significance in antiquity;

(c)
Great Zimbabwe, including African architecture and trade with China
and the Middle East;

(d)
The kingdom of Axum (Ethiopia), including its conversion to
Christianity and long-standing independence;

(e)
The kingdom of Kush, including its iron industry, trade networks, and
influence on Mediterranean cultures;

(f)
The Mali empire and Mansa Musa, including his pilgrimage to Mecca,
global wealth, and scholarship at Timbuktu;

(g)
The Moors in Spain, including the scientific, architectural, and
philosophical contributions of African Muslims in Europe;

(h)
The Songhai empire, including west Africa's role in trade,
governance, and early universities.

(2)
Trade, culture, and knowledge transmission, which shall include
instruction on all of the following:

(a)
African contributions to mathematics, medicine, and architecture,
including its influence on Greek, Roman, and Islamic civilizations;

(b)
African maritime trade in the Indian ocean, including east African
city-states of Kilwa, Sofala, and Zanzibar, and their global
commerce;

(c)
Trans-Saharan trade routes, including gold, salt, and intellectual
exchange across Africa and the Middle East;

(d)
Timbuktu and African scholarship and the centers of learning that
rivaled medieval Europe.

(3)
The African diaspora and global movements, which shall include
instruction on all of the following:

(a)
Black participation in global revolutions, including
African-descended soldiers in the American and French revolutions;

(b)
The Haitian revolution, as the first successful slave revolt that
created an independent republic;

(c)
Maroon societies and resistance movements regarding escaped slave
communities in the Caribbean and South America;

(d)
Pan-Africanism and early global black leadership, including figures
like Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. Du Bois;

(e)
The transatlantic slave trade, including the economic, cultural, and
demographic impact on Africa and the Americas.

(4)
Modern Africa and decolonization, which shall include instruction on
both of the following:

(a)
European colonization and the scramble for Africa, including how
partition reshaped the continent;

(b)
African independence movements, including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and
others as models of postcolonial identity.

(C)
When the model curriculum has been developed, the department shall
notify all school districts, community schools established under
Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, and STEM schools established under
Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code of the content of the curriculum.
Any district or school may utilize the model curriculum.