As we head into Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5–9), we salute civics teachers of all stripes who are doing their very best to educate students for democracy during these tumultuous political times.
The CivxNow Coalition honors their service by amplifying the critical work of civics teachers and students and by doubling down on our commitment to strengthening K–12 civic education policies at the local, state, and national levels.
CivxNow is meeting this moment through a five-point plan:
- Growing federal funding for K–12 civics, currently valued at less than 50 cents per student, and seeking a generational investment in students’ civic development to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This includes making Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) appropriations requests to individual congressional offices, a Coalition-wide sign-on letter for FY26, and our first-ever Hill Day next month on May 22. Contact our federal policy lead Abbie Kaplan for further details.
- Leveraging numerous state-based opportunities to strengthen civic education in partnership with our state affiliates. Since 2021, 26 states have adopted 42 policies to strengthen civic learning aligned with our State Policy Menu. This year, 44 states are considering 181 bills impacting K–12 civic education. 132 (72.9%) of them align with the policy menu.
- Making an affirmative case for civics by further activating the coalition for partnership at the local and state levels. This entails a relentless PR campaign, including a strong social media presence, and sharing consistent insights on coordinated messaging among coalition partners.
- Driving national coalition collaboration around key milestones, including Civic Learning Week in March, Civic Season this summer, Constitution Day in September, and Veterans Day in November.
- Strengthening the ways we work together. While CivxNow serves as the backbone of the civic learning field, we seek collective impact. This entails elevating the work of coalition partners who are meeting the moment in related issue areas, including libraries, cultural institutions, state humanities councils, and the nonprofit sector more broadly.
This collective work is producing results that will soon yield classroom impact. For example, bills already signed into law this spring in Utah to extend the current one-semester civics course requirement to a full year and in Virginia incorporating media literacy into state standards.
Moreover, Louisiana just became the twelfth state to adopt civic seals, in this case through administrative action by the Department of Education. Other wins are sure to follow prior to legislatures adjourning for the summer. And progress will continue as the calendar turns to 2026 and we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
In the Spirit of 1776, with Teacher Appreciation Week beckoning, we are excited to announce our ambitious goal to recruit 250 teachers from all 50 states and DC to join our Teachers Advancing Civic Learning (TACL) cohort, where we train and empower educators to “do civics for civics.” Teachers are our nation’s most trusted messengers and can speak firsthand to what’s needed in the classroom for students when it comes to civics. Join more than 30 CivxNow partner organizations in sharing this opportunity within your teacher networks as we advance and strengthen civic learning through policy at the local, state, and national levels.