( CNN ) This year , high school students taking Advanced Placement U.S. history in some parts of the country are getting a lesson in current affairs . And in partisanship . The College Board , which creates standards for what knowledge students in AP classes must demonstrate to get college credit for taking the course , introduced a new 95-page framework that is causing controversy . Not for what 's in it , but for what is left out . Conservative school board members in several states say it 's biased and not patriotic enough . They complain that the new framework does not mention important facts and figures , like the Rev . Martin Luther King Jr. or the Founding Fathers and Declaration of Independence . King is mentioned in the guidelines , as are the Black Panthers , but the woman who started the movement against the framework says it 's not about specific examples , but what she believes to be a liberal theme . The College Board , backed by many teachers , says that a framework does n't dictate curriculum , it only guides it . And that it 's absurd to conclude that teachers would n't teach such important issues as part of American history . Proponents of the new framework argue it was written by professors and historians who are much more qualified to set standards than local school board members . Each side is accusing the other of playing politics with American History . In several states , including Oklahoma , Georgia , Nebraska , North Carolina , Tennessee and Texas , conservatives have introduced proposals to revise the framework to include specific facts , and to make sure that it promotes American exceptionalism , or to withdraw funding from the College Board . Opinion : Is Oklahoma scared of AP history ? `` When you start omitting things , you 're censoring things , '' said Ken Mercer , the Texas state board of education member who wrote the first piece of legislation against the framework . `` I was shocked . They had civil rights and Black Panthers , but not Rosa Parks . What 's left out smells of agenda . '' In response , the College Board said , `` In the face of these attacks ... AP teachers and students , our member institutions , and the American people can rest assured : The College Board will not compromise the integrity of the Advanced Placement Program . '' Nowhere has this caused more disturbance than in Jefferson County , Colorado , where high schoolers have been protesting the school board 's decision to establish a review committee for the new framework . Some even walked out of school for several days in the fall . `` This is wrong for Jefferson County , this is wrong for us as students . This is wrong for American history , '' one student said during public comment at an October school board meeting . `` True patriotism ought to be based upon accurate understanding of American history , and not a biased promotion of American exceptionalism , '' said another . Conservative board member Julie Williams wrote the Jefferson County proposal , which states : `` Materials should promote citizenship , patriotism , essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system , respect for authority and respect for individual rights . Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder , social strife or disregard of the law . '' `` I was stunned that this resolution was even coming before the school board , '' said board member Lesley Dahlkemper . `` It 's too extreme . It goes too far and I believe our students deserve an unvarnished view of history . '' A revised proposal that did not include that strong language passed by a 3-2 vote . `` I was insulted , '' said Stephanie Rossi , who teaches the class at Wheat Ridge High School in Jefferson County . `` The thought that a board member that is supposed to represent an educational institution is assuming that history teachers in her district are going to lead kids to be un-American and unpatriotic . '' The students protested again at the November meeting , reading aloud from their history textbooks . Conservative board member Ken Witt , who voted for the framework , said he believes it is the right of a local school board to review the curriculum of all classes students take . `` You know , there is a national dialogue around AP U.S. history and a lot of concerns have been raised about the balance in that curriculum , '' Witt said . When pressed , he could not give specific examples of his concerns , and said only that he wanted a review of it . Williams refused multiple requests to talk to CNN . `` In my opinion we need to teach the good , the bad and the ugly , '' said Jill Fellman , the other board member who voted against it . `` We need to make sure our kids understand what it is like to be an American . '' The College Board has responded to this by defending the framework , but also allowing public comment through February . The discussion is expected to pick up again in the summer . In a statement , it said , `` In the face of these attacks ... AP teachers and students , our member institutions , and the American people can rest assured : The College Board will not compromise the integrity of the Advanced Placement Program . '' The furor began with Larry Krieger , a college test prep instructor and former AP history teacher . When the College Board made public the new framework and announced it would replace an older five-page version starting this year , Krieger connected with Jane Robbins , a senior fellow at the conservative think tank American Principles Project . `` There was a relentless negative drumbeat about America , all of the themes all of the concepts . '' Robbins , a leader of the effort against the new framework , said it gives special emphasis to race , gender and ethnic identities . `` That is sort of the leftist goal , having all of history viewed through that lens , '' she said . Together , Robbins and Krieger penned an op-ed that barely anyone noticed until Robbins was giving a speech in Texas and mentioned Krieger 's complaint . `` There was a member of the Texas State Board of Education in audience -- Ken Mercer , '' Robbins said . `` He came up and expressed concern and asked what could be done . That led to the resolution he introduced . '' Mercer then wrote a resolution that included language so strong that it was noticed by the Republican National Committee . The framework , he wrote , `` reflects a view of American history that is critical of American exceptionalism , the free enterprise system and emphasizes negative aspects of our nation 's history while minimizing positive aspects . '' An RNC talking points memo followed , and ripped the phrase straight from Mercer 's resolution , adding to it a request that `` Congress withhold any federal funding to the College Board ( a private nongovernmental organization ) until the APUSH course and examination have been rewritten in a transparent manner to accurately reflect U.S. history without a political bias . '' From there , it trickled down to local school boards . Resolutions with many of the exact same phrases as the RNC memo appeared in places such as Nebraska and North Carolina . `` In the past it was five pages , a list of what teachers are supposed to go over , '' said Texas state board chairwoman Barbara Cargill . `` Now it 's 98 pages , it 's detailed . Me , I 'm a former teacher . To me it looked more like a curriculum . '' In other states , the issue has not been as disruptive . It was most recently raised in Georgia and Oklahoma . The language from a resolution introduced by Republican Georgia state Sen. William Ligon mirrors the RNC memo nearly word-for-word , as many state resolutions do . In Oklahoma , a bill passed an education committee that would have eliminated state funding for AP U.S. history classes unless the College Board changed the framework . But after an outcry , the bill 's sponsor said he 'd rewrite the legislation and change the wording . In North Carolina , there is concern the new framework does n't meet state standards for what should be taught , state Rep. Craig Horn told CNN . `` We insist on the study of our founding principles , '' he said . `` We 're either going to require them to take a course before APUSH , or find another way , but we 're pretty stubborn about it . '' But when a local school board in Hanover County , North Carolina , asked the state Board of Education not to implement the new framework , it raised concerns that students there might lose out on the opportunity to get college credit . The chairman of the state board , Bill Cobey , told CNN that they are in a `` listening and discussing stage . '' `` We 're not ready to do anything , '' Cobey said . `` I want what 's best for the children and students of North Carolina , and I certainly do n't want them to lose any opportunity to take Advanced Placement history . '' In Texas , where it began , teachers are being told to `` fill in '' the framework with state-issued curriculum standards for U.S. history , Cargill said , adamant that it would not affect the college credits that students can get for taking the class . `` It 's too important . Those AP courses are really critical for ( grade-point average ) and college scholarships , '' Cargill said . The Republican Party in Douglas County , Nebraska , introduced a resolution that mirrored the RNC memo , and State Board of Education member Glen Flint wrote in a blog post dated October 30 that the board is `` currently studying the issue , '' and `` we should take a stand against any attempt to nationalize or circumvent state standards and local control , '' he wrote . In Tennessee , legislation was introduced in November that would create a commission to examine any new AP framework from the College Board . `` The real controversy is the wording in the key concepts of this framework . Until the College Board revises that wording and bias in there , this issue is not going to die down , '' Cargill said . CNN 's Glen Dacy contributed to this report .
Several states debating new framework for AP history instruction . Conservatives say it is biased . College Board says framework is meant to guide curriculum .