Author: icivics

Continued Progress on Civics Policies Across States

States continued a steady march toward stronger K–12 civic education this spring. Several states implemented minimum course requirements for civics, while others allocated resources for teacher training or started new civic excellence programs. Our final tally for this legislative session includes 151 bills impacting K–12 civic education in 35 states. Nearly three-fourths (109) of the bills align with the CivxNow Policy Menu.

Six states already crossed the finish line with stronger civics policies:

  • Alabama’s $1.75 million injection into the state budget fuels a continued partnership between Troy University and the American Village Citizenship Trust. This program equips Alabama high school students with a solid grasp of U.S. history and government, and also offers teachers a “Civics Education Micro-credential.”
  • Indiana SB211 passed on the last day of session and was signed into law by Governor Holcomb (R) on March 13. The measure, sponsored by Senator Jeff Raatz (R), creates a new “Excellence in Civic Engagement” designation for graduating high school students.
  • Kentucky high schoolers now have a choice. Previously, they had to pass a 100-question civics test based on the U.S. Citizenship exam. Thanks to House Bill 535, sponsored by Representative Robert Duval (R), students can now choose between that test and taking a credit class in civic education. This law also makes the existing test a bit tougher by raising the passing score from 60% to 70%. The bill was signed into law by Governor Andy Beshear (D) on April 9.
  • Missouri’s General Assembly passed HB 2002, which included $500K for educator professional development in “civics and patriotism.” This was the second year of funding for this new line item and it was supported by the Missouri Civic Learning Coalition.
  • New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed HB 171 into law, updating high school graduation requirements to include an additional semester of social studies and civics.

As of this writing, two states are still considering substantial measures to boost K–12 civics:

  • Michigan, where CivxNow staff led appropriations requests for professional development for K–12 civic educators. Committee chairs in both chambers agreed: $1M in the House School Aid Budget and $5M in the Senate School Aid Budget. The conference committees are currently negotiating final numbers prior to the close of session this month.
  • California SB1094, which passed the Senate last week, requires one civic engagement experience with a governmental institution in both elementary and middle school. It moves next to the House, which adjourns in August. Californians for Civic Learning is leading the charge to pass this critical measure to prepare K–8 students for their high school civics experiences, including the State Seal of Civic Engagement.

Join our ongoing efforts to build civic learning coalitions in all 50 states to strengthen K–12 civic education.

Test Voice of Civics

Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source.

Building a Stronger Democracy, One State at a Time

CivxNow is a force multiplier for K–12 civic education policy with active State Policy Task Force members in 41 states. We provide local advocates and coalitions with the tools necessary to champion evidence-based policies.

From Vision to Action

Founded with the goal of driving lasting policy changes, CivxNow’s State Policy Task Force is an essential resource for grassroots advocacy. We support this movement by:

  • Providing current, state-specific research;
  • Fostering collaboration among advocates across state lines;
  • Offering access to vital resources and expertise for effective policymaking; and
  • Convening state partners for timely technical assistance.

Investing in the Future

Since its inception in 2018, thanks to the longstanding support of the Carnegie Corporation, the CivxNow Coalition has flourished. Carnegie’s early and continuous investments made possible the nationwide impact detailed in their report, “Connecting Civic Education and a Healthy Democracy,” released last month.

In addition to underwriting the work of the CivxNow Policy team, Carnegie’s support enables annual regrants for state coalition initiatives totaling $275,000 in 15 geographic and politically diverse states. Our goal? Substantial policy advancements in civic education.

Success Stories

CivxNow’s approach, as detailed in the Carnegie report, is demonstrably effective. Carnegie Democracy Program Officer Andrew Geraghty wrote, “There is no one-size-fits-all approach to civic learning, and states are truly laboratories of change. Conservative, progressive, urban, rural, and otherwise diverse states have taken varied policy approaches to bolster civic learning, and they are all helping us move toward a common goal: a stronger democracy.”

Since 2021, 23 states enacted more than 30 measures to strengthen K–12 civic education, including:

  • New Hampshire: A bipartisan 2023 law mandates a semester of civics for middle schoolers and dedicated instructional time in elementary schools.
  • Minnesota: A civics course became mandatory for high school juniors and seniors as part of the 2023 education package.
  • Massachusetts: The state’s nation-leading annual investment in civic education increased to $2.5 million for Fiscal Year 2024.
  • Other course mandates: Middle school civics course requirements were adopted in Indiana and New Jersey, while high school requirements were established in Montana, Oregon, and Rhode Island.
  • Resourcing and community commitments: Utah funded pilot experiential civic learning programs in districts, and Georgia created a permanent civic education commission.

Building a Brighter Future

CivxNow recognizes the importance of patience and persistence in policy advocacy. We leverage strategic state partnerships to accelerate impactful change. This spring, we’re tracking 141 civic education-related bills in 35 states, 100 aligned with the CivxNow State Policy Menu.

We heed Carnegie’s call for “…state policies and investments (to) ensure high-quality civic education for all students in the United States.” These policies will “equip young people with the tools to think critically, to engage in constructive debate, and to discover their agency is critical to reducing polarization and strengthening American democracy.”

Civics Funding Holds Strong in a Tough Fiscal Environment

Late last week, Congress passed its remaining Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 spending bills, which include $23M for K–12 civic education. This encompasses $3M for American History and Civics Academies and $20M for American History and Civics National Activities. These funding levels are identical to FY23, a major victory for the civic education field given divided government in D.C. and downward pressure on overall spending. The FY23 and FY24 funding levels triple those from FY22 ($7.75M).

Last year’s grants are having a major, positive impact on the field of civic education:

  • Through FY23 funding, the federal Department of Education issued four American History and Civics Academies grants, up from one in FY21, and 25 American History and Civics National Activities grants, up from six in FY22.
  • Three-quarters of Academies grant recipients and nearly half of National Activities grants recipients are CivxNow members.
  • Last year’s National Activities grants are currently serving an estimated 4,000 teachers and 400,000 students. Eighty-four percent of these grants provide professional learning opportunities for teachers. Nearly half of the grants (48%) also involve curriculum development, and a third (32%) student programming.

We are grateful for the 330+ members of the CivxNow Coalition contacting congressional offices and making the case for continued federal investments in high-quality K–12 civic education. This outreach made a major difference, as current civics funding investments were imperiled.

This process begins anew for FY25, where we seek $30M for K-12 civic education, a 30% increase from FY23-24. Long-term, the CivxNow Coalition will pursue reintroduction of the bipartisan, bicameral Civics Secures Democracy Act, which represents a generational investment in K–12 civic education.

While current federal funding levels for K–12 civics are reason to celebrate, they still represent less than fifty cents per K–12 student, as opposed to the $50+ per student investments in STEM subjects. Federal investments in K–12 civic education are critical to its prioritization across states and school districts. By respecting local control, they empower districts, schools, and teachers to provide students with universal access to high-quality civic learning opportunities throughout their K–12 trajectories.

Every Voice Counts During Civic Learning Week

I often tell people, I’m sure your job is great, but mine is better—and I mean it. Each day, I get to work with some subset of over 325 organizations that are members of the CivxNow Coalition, learning what they do and why they do it. It’s inspiring and humbling. That is why I’m so excited about the second-ever National Civic Learning Week (CLW). The week provides an opportunity for our field and the amazing humans that drive it to take a curtain call, celebrate the importance of our work, and broaden and deepen our powerful movement.

Because I have a bird’s-eye view of what many partners are doing, organizational friends asked me for ideas on how they should celebrate the week. I’m heartened by the fact that a movement as diverse as ours—one that includes in- and out-of-school actors, museums and cultural institutions, people with different viewpoints and life experiences, etc.—provides many onramps for engagement. Our movement’s diversity is our strength.

With this knowledge, I encourage our partners and now you to showcase what you do and do what you’re good at throughout CLW. There’s not one way to celebrate; there are many. And, what’s more, you don’t have to do this alone or start from scratch. We have many resources that can help you.

If you’re an:

  • Educator, think about spotlighting your lessons or student work. Check out the Educator Toolkit your peers from small and large districts across the country created, including classroom-ready activities, messages, and other useful tools.
  • Employer or a community member, share how civic learning is important to you.
  • Elected official, take this moment to focus your colleagues on this important issue.
  • Organization, this one-pager lays out the goals our coalition members articulated for CLW. It includes links to ideas that can take you as little as 10 minutes to execute.

We ask that all partners use our marketing kit, which includes graphics, sample posts, and action ideas that your organization can easily deploy. You may also wish to attend one of the many thoughtful events our partners are leading.

As I think about CLW, my mind goes to one of the favorite books I read my daughter when she was younger. In Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who, the mayor of this tiny town, Whoville, that exists on a speck, calls out to this one young person who isn’t effectively using their voice with an impassioned plea. In Dr. Seuss’s words, “This is the time for all Whos who have blood that is red to come to the aid of their country!” he said. “We’ve GOT to make noises in greater amounts! So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!”

The line always reminds me that all our voices don’t have to be the same or leveraged the same way, but together they contribute to a beautiful chorus that can make an enormous difference. So, whether you’re an organization or an individual, I encourage you to leverage your creativity and voice and celebrate with us in March. It will make an enormous difference for a field whose time has come.

See you at Civic Learning Week!

Ace Parsi
Director of Coalition Engagement, iCivics

Civics Springing Forth in State Capitols

State lawmakers are exploring an array of civic education bills that align with the CivxNow State Policy Menu, signaling a collective effort to elevate and enhance civic learning nationwide. Our policy team and state coalitions are responding to an evolving landscape but focusing on a few priority states this session, including Alaska, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin.

Policy emphases from the early weeks of the Spring 2024 session include:

Information Literacy

Given the increasing role of technology in shaping civic discourse, several states are incorporating information literacy into state education laws.

State Representative Jim Murphy, Missouri (R), introduced HB1513, Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Act, which proposes a pilot media literacy project in 5–7 school districts and allows each district to report back findings and recommendations to inform state standards. In Pennsylvania, Senators John I. Kane (D) and Amanda M. Cappelletti (D) filed SB343, establishing a K–12 curriculum for internet safety.

Civic Seals

The Maryland Civic Education Coalition, a state CivxNow affiliate, is working with a bipartisan and bicameral group of legislators on a bill related to establishing the civic seals program.

Indiana Senators Jeff Raatz (R) and John Crane (R) introduced SB211, which establishes a civic seals program through the state department of education. In Alaska, Senator Stevens (R) sponsored and passed SB 29, a bipartisan bill last session, to require a new semester-long civics course in high school and a civics assessment/test. The bill awaits action in the House.

High School Civics

In Alaska, Senator Stevens (R) sponsored and passed SB 29, a bipartisan bill last session, to require a new semester-long civics course in high school and a civics assessment/test. The bill awaits action in the House.

The Wisconsin Civic Learning Coalition is weighing in on SB 83, sponsored by Senators Wanggaard (R) and Cabral-Guevara (R), that requires a high school civics course for graduation.

Teacher Professional Development

The Michigan Civics Coalition (MiCivics) is leading advocacy efforts to enhance professional development for K–12 civic educators and is exploring opportunities to begin a civic excellence recognition program for students.

To track these bills and others impacting civics across states, search CivxNow’s regularly updated pending bills by state database. The interactive CivxNow state policy scan provides a framework for high-quality civic education policy across states. For more information or to request support, please contact our Director of State Policy, Lisa Boudreau.

How Justice O’Connor Brought Civics to Chicago

On December 1, we learned of the heartbreaking news of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s passing. The news broke just as the National Council for the Social Studies opened its conference in Nashville, the largest annual gathering of civics educators. The convening permitted collective grieving for and remembrance of a history-making woman who built a national movement for innovative civic learning as her legacy project.

Justice O’Connor contended that civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions are not passed through the national gene pool, but must instead be cultivated with each successive generation. As iCivics’ CEO Louise Dubé detailed in her moving tribute, Justice O’Connor built iCivics into the leading civic education provider in the U.S., reaching half of middle and high school students and nearly 150,000 teachers each year. Yet in her final letter to the American people dated October 23, 2018, she set the bar far higher.

Justice O’Connor wrote:

“It is my great hope that our nation will commit to educating our youth about civics, and to helping young people understand their crucial role as informed, active citizens in our nation. To achieve this, I hope that private citizens, counties, states, and the federal government will work together to create and fund a nationwide civics education initiative. Many wonderful people already are working towards this goal, but they need real help and public commitment.”

CivxNow was thus born in 2018 with 47 charter members committed to strengthening local, state, and federal civic education policies including funding. As 2023 concludes, we boast 320 organizational members, plus a presence in 41 states and counting. We secured increased federal funding for K–12 civics from $3.5M in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 to $23M in FY 2023. And we supported state partners and policymakers in passing and adopting 29 laws with bipartisan support since 2021 that align with the CivxNow State Policy Menu.

Like Louise, I have a personal story of Justice O’Connor’s role in propelling this remarkable progress. She visited Chicago a decade ago in an effort to boost the Illinois Civic Mission Coalition’s statewide efforts, but also to support a robust new strategy in the state’s largest district, Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Justice O’Connor visited a high school civics class at Alcott College Prep on the city’s North Side and engaged students in a stimulating conversation about her historic service as the nation’s first female Justice, and on the importance of their civic development as a condition of sustaining a self-governing nation.

From there, Justice O’Connor dined with members of the CPS Board of Education, endorsing a district-wide civic education strategy that included a full-year high school civics course, project-based service learning, and student voice committees in middle and high schools. She keynoted a breakfast the following morning before a packed Union League Club audience composed of students, teachers, and school leaders, and held court on civic learning at the Chicago Tribune editorial board that afternoon before departing.

The impact of Justice O’Connor’s visit continues to bear fruit a decade later. The Illinois Civic Mission Coalition successfully advocated for a state civic education task force that spring, and it produced policy recommendations to the General Assembly the following year. The recommendations were implemented in quick succession, including passage of a high school civics course in 2015, its middle school counterpart in 2019, new state social studies standards centering civics in 2016, and a statewide system of teacher professional development that has served 25,000-plus teacher participants since the fall of 2015.

CPS is an important part of this story, too, scaling the initiative launched the school year of Justice O’Connor’s visit into the model civic education strategy for a large urban district with dedicated staffing and funding. Oh, and the Tribune provided front-page coverage of the task force and the editorial board endorsed the push for a required civics course.

Her legacy endures, as each meeting with policymakers and their staff begins with our origin story starring Justice O’Connor. She continues to command universal respect across the political spectrum, and we carry her commitment to civic learning close to our hearts. We honor Justice O’Connor’s memory each day in this collective impact effort called the CivxNow Coalition. It is a great privilege to work for the organization she founded, and to pursue (and one day achieve) her lofty vision with eternal vigilance in partnership with each of you.

Teacher Project Promises to Do Civics for Civics

CivxNow works year-round to strengthen K–12 civic education policies at the local, state, and federal levels. We do this in partnership with our 315+ member organizations and the many stakeholders they represent and embody, frontline civic educators most prominently. Educators are our most effective advocates because they are experts at the craft and teach in every state and legislative district in the country.

In meetings with congressional and state legislative offices, educators present firsthand accounts of their experiences teaching civics in a polarized political environment where the subject is too often marginalized. Moreover, they point to the potential benefits of strengthened policies, including improved classroom resources, access to ongoing professional development opportunities, and engaging student programs.

In this vein, CivxNow is proud to announce its Teachers Advancing Civic Learning (TACL). With the leadership of more than 25 participating member organizations, we are recruiting interested educators and developing training modules and materials to assist with eventual advocacy. Through TACL, participants will form peer relationships, access specialized toolkits, join leading organizations in the civic learning field, feel empowered to press for positive change, and model civic behaviors for students and the surrounding community. Know an educator who would like to be involved?

Successive Surveys the Impact of Civic Learning and Engagement

In the American Bar Association’s 2023 Survey of Civic Literacy, 70% of respondents consider public understanding of how government works to be “not very informed” (53%) or “not at all informed” (17%). Periodic measures of public civic knowledge confirm this sentiment. For example, the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s annual Constitution Day Civics Survey released last month shows that while 66% of respondents could name the three branches of government, 17% could not name any.

A deeper dive into the Annenberg survey reveals a scant 5% of respondents able to name all five freedoms of the First Amendment, with only speech identified by a majority (77%). Religion (40%), assembly (33%), press (28%), and petition (9%) followed. Twenty-two percent inaccurately associated the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms to the First, and 20% of those surveyed were unable to name any of the five freedoms.

Respondents also struggled to apply the First Amendment’s freedom of speech. Fifty-three percent inaccurately claimed that Facebook, a private company, “…must permit all Americans to freely express themselves on (its) pages.” The upside is that the 59% of respondents who reported taking a high school civics class focused on the Constitution were more likely to answer survey questions correctly.

The consequences of low levels of civic knowledge among the citizenry were clarified in the Institute for Citizens & Scholars’ (ICS) September 2023 survey  The Civic Outlook of Young Adults in America. The national survey of more than 4,000 18–24-year-olds found a strong relationship between civic knowledge and civic engagement. Respondents answered a series of questions about the constitutional design of American institutions, the Bill of Rights, and current events. Each correct answer was associated with a statistically significant increase in political engagement, including voting, volunteering, and digital content creation and sharing.

Moreover, civically engaged respondents expressed greater satisfaction with U.S. democracy, with each community engagement activity increasing satisfaction. In turn, those with high satisfaction were more likely to find conversations with those they disagree “interesting” and/or “informative.” High civic engagement also translates into increased levels of trust in government institutions.

In sum, civic knowledge yields increased civic engagement, and civic engagement activities correlate with higher levels of satisfaction with our constitutional democracy, not to mention interesting and informative conversations across political differences. However, ICS points to a curious relationship between civic knowledge and satisfaction with democracy: those with higher retrospective levels of civic education were more satisfied, but those with higher civic knowledge less satisfied.

Our take is that higher levels of civic knowledge alone will not help strengthen and sustain this grand experiment in democratic governance. Civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions undergird youth civic development. A comprehensive civic education, as articulated in CivxNow’s State Policy Menu and our federal priorities, includes direct instruction in civics paired with practices of constitutional democracy like viewpoint-diverse classroom discussions, project-based learning, and simulations of democratic processes. These successive surveys from our partners at the ABA, Annenberg, and ICS further illuminate the importance of prioritizing high-quality civic learning opportunities throughout students’ PK–20 trajectory.

A Deeper Dive on New Hampshire’s Policy Win

The New Hampshire Civic Learning Coalition, led by NH Civics, championed advocacy efforts in Spring 2023 for a bipartisan bill entitled “More Time on Civics,” requiring a semester of civics in middle school and instructional time for civics in grades K–5. The legislation passed with strong bipartisan support, and was signed by Governor Chris Sununu (R) in August 2023.

Governor Sununu also requested and secured $1M in appropriations for a new civics textbook in the Fiscal Year 2024 state budget. The four-term governor will not seek reelection next year, but will leave these new policy accomplishments as part of his legacy in the Granite State.

Under Senate Bill (SB) 216, which was sponsored by State Senator Sharon Carson (R), high school graduation requirements remain unchanged: a half-year of instruction in civics and a full year of instruction in history and government. However, under the new law, students also need to obtain a passing grade on a competency exam developed by their school and a grade of 70 percent or better on the 128-question U.S. citizenship exam.

Schools will be expected to meet the new curriculum requirements at the start of the 2024–2025 school year without new funding from the state. The new law also includes resources to create materials and professional development for educators. Moreover, NH Civics committed to providing free professional development programs and curriculum materials over the next year to support implementation.

During the 2023 legislative session, the CivxNow policy team tracked 131 bills in 38 states pertaining to civic education. Seventy-six of these bills aligned with the CivxNow state policy menu. Indeed, this win in New Hampshire and recent successes in other states, signals legislative appetite for additional reforms in red, blue, and purple states. Since 2021, twenty states adopted twenty-two policies aligning with CivxNow’s policy priorities. CivxNow’s top policy recommendation for states is to provide universal, equitable access to K–12 civic learning opportunities.

The NH Civic Learning Coalition was awarded CivxNow state policy grants in 2022 and 2023 and is a member of the CivxNow State Policy Task Force.