State education officials yielded to critics of a proposal that would have limited the required high school U.S. history course to events of the last 132 years.

The proposal to concentrate early U.S. history in the elementary and middle school grades drew criticism from teachers, parents and politicians, who said such a plan would dumb-down or eliminate important events from classroom instruction.

Rebecca Garland, the chief academic officer at the state Department of Public Instruction, told legislators Tuesday the agency used the feedback from 7,000 e-mails on the proposed social studies curriculum to come up with two new options.

Both options involve expanding U.S. history to two courses. The new draft social studies curriculum will be ready in April, Garland said.