Month: January 2026

January 2026: Fresh Perspectives for a New Year of Civic Learning

NEWSLETTERS
JANUARY 2026

News From the Front Lines of Civic Education

A Heartfelt Farewell from Coalition Engagement Director Ace Parsi

After five years of leading the CivxNow coalition, Ace Parsi is transitioning to a new chapter in public service. In this moving reflection, Ace shares what he has learned from working with the coalition and why he believes civic learning is a sacred trust.
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Research Roundup: Young Americans' View of News Media and Journalism

The News Literacy Project published Biased, Boring, and Bad, a national survey exploring how young Americans view news media and journalism.

The report documents that a vast majority of teens hold negative views of contemporary media, often struggling to find information they perceive as honest or balanced. Key findings stress that fostering news literacy is essential to rebuilding trust, and that teaching young people to distinguish between standards-based journalism and other forms of information is vital.

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EAD Survey Responses Requested

The Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Community Learning Partners (CLP) Network Task Force is seeking your feedback to better understand the impact of the EAD Roadmap on the civics field. Complete this 10-minute survey for a chance to be invited to the November 2026 summit at Monticello, with travel stipends available.

Take the Survey

Are You Ready for Civic Learning Week?

Civic Learning Week (March 9–13) is fast approaching and it’s time to start planning your celebration of civic education.

Use the toolkit to organize your activities, add your events to the national map, and share your participation using our social media resources.

Explore Civic Learning Week
Civic Learning Week March 9-13, 2026

On the Road

New York Civics Day

On January 9, iCivics joined students and leaders at Generation Citizen’s New York Civics Day to celebrate young changemakers as they presented community-based policy proposals and dialogue-driven solutions.

2025 Indiana Civic Health Index

On January 21, the Indiana Bar Foundation released the 2025 Indiana Civic Health Index, highlighting that Indiana is the only state to meet all eight policy recommendations from the CivxNow State Policy Scan.

In the News

A new year and a new round of interest in civics:

  • EdSurge looks ahead to how civics will take center stage during America 250
  • 2024 National Civics Bee winner Emily Brubaker makes the case that civics is for kids, not just adults, in this Newsweek op-ed
  • Former Anaheim Schools superintendent Michael Matsuda says democracy is not a spectator sport and needs to be at the center of public education in this EdSource piece
  • The Wall Street Journal looks at a new bill that would require New York schools to teach about what happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021
  • SuperTalk Mississippi Media covers Senator Bryce Wiggins’ efforts to make civics a mandatory high school subject in the state.

New Members

CivxNow continues to grow, now officially standing at more than 400 member organizations! The latest additions are:

We remain deeply appreciative of member efforts and all that we accomplish together. Our goal is to aggregate and activate large networks of support to expand and re-imagine civic education as a force for civic strength. To our members, thank you for your partnership.

If your organization is interested in joining CivxNow or in learning more, please
contact us at CivxNow@icivics.org.

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February 2026

Forty-seven percent of young voters (ages 18–29) cast ballots in 2024, down three points from 2020, but eclipsing 2016 turnout

Read More

A Heartfelt Farewell from Coalition Engagement Director Ace Parsi

How does one summarize five years of transformative professional experiences in a few paragraphs? You don’t—but I’ll try. After five years of coordinating the CivxNow coalition, I decided to leave my role as Director of Coalition Engagement at iCivics to pursue a new professional chapter of public service. I leave this work with deep faith, gratitude, and hope in all of you, and I look forward to cheering your efforts from the sidelines.

During my time here, I’ve told everybody I’ve spoken to, “You may have a good job, but I have a better job—the best job, in all of education.” I’ve meant it. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the most deeply mission-oriented individuals and organizations in the country, facilitating a truly pluralistic collective with individuals and organizations working toward essential missions.

My experiences included the launch of the Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy, the inaugural and subsequent powerful Civic Learning Weeks, progress in integrating civics into the AI and education landscape, and witnessing the coalition grow from 170 to well over 400 organizations. 

I’m proud of these accomplishments, but what I’ve found most fulfilling are the friendships and relationships that I’ve formed. That’s what I’ll take with me. There are talented people in this field who could be making more money and working less, but they choose to invest themselves in something greater: the health of the world’s oldest modern democracy. I can’t think of a more important vocation. If public office is a sacred trust, so is civic learning. 

Great public servants work as hard for people who disagree with them as they do for those who agree; great civic learning organizations do the same. We are in the business of planting seeds for something bigger and better than any single issue of the day; we’re in the business of planting seeds for a stronger, more vibrant, and inclusive democracy. 

At its best, that’s what public service does, and that’s what great civic learning does. I will carry our work together in this new professional chapter of public service as part of who I am. I hope you continue to shepherd the CivxNow coalition during this 250th year of our constitutional democracy and contribute to its strength and sustenance for years to come. 

In civics,

Ace Parsi

January 2026

Young Americans have decidedly negative views of news media and journalism, according to a national survey published in November 2025 by the News Literacy Project (NLP). Biased, Boring, and Bad follows up on NLP’s 2024 Survey of Teen Information Attitudes, Habits, and Skills.

Among the key findings:

  • The vast majority of teens (84%; ages 13-18) surveyed expressed negative views of contemporary media.
  • Teens believed that journalists engage in deceptive practices (81%) and don’t do anything well (66%). This includes giving advertisers special treatment; making up details, such as quotations; paying or doing favors for sources; and taking photos or videos out of context.
  • Young people’s top recommendations to journalists are to be honest, factual, minimize bias, and improve balance.

As was evident in last year’s survey, teens with higher trust in news media had more positive views of professional journalists and news organizations. For example, high-trust teens were more than twice as likely to say that journalists correct errors when they happen, and are half as likely to believe that news organizations give advertisers special treatment.

NLP concludes the survey with three recommendations:

  1. Encourage young people to distinguish between standards-based journalism and other forms of information;
  2. Teach students verification skills and how standards-based newsrooms operate; and
  3. Foster accurate perceptions of journalism by challenging sweeping generalizations about modern media and exposing students to high-quality journalism.