Tennessee Charter School Curriculum, Drafted at Hillsdale and Favored by Governor, Rewrites Civil Rights History

If Gov. Bill Lee gets his way, Tennessee will become a major player in a network of taxpayer-funded charter schools set up by a Michigan college with close ties to former President Donald Trump.

Lee calls Hillsdale College's approach to teaching civics "informed patriotism."

But the colleges' own teaching materials reveal why critics say its approach is anything but informed. For example, Hillsdale falsely claims that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not favor using the "force of law" to achieve civil rights victories.

"This curriculum has a political bent to it," said Nashville historian David Ewing, who reviewed the materials at NewsChannel 5's request.

"You should call balls and strikes in history — and just let people read primary sources without massive interpretation."

Charter schools are privately operated schools funded by taxpayer dollars.

According to a recording of a speech by Hillsdale College's president, Dr. Larry Arnn, Lee initially asked the college to start up 100 charter schools in Tennessee. Arnn eventually agreed to 50. (That recording posted by Hillsdale to SoundCloud has since been deleted.)