News From the Front Lines of Civic Education

September 2025

Constitution Day Reflections on the Eve of America’s 250th 

Earlier this month, we collectively celebrated Constitution Day. As we look ahead to the nation’s semiquincentennial in July, the Annenberg Public Policy Center's annual survey of Americans' constitutional knowledge reveals a paradox. Civic knowledge is on the rise, but so is public distrust in age-old American institutions. This toxic mix of polarization and distrust threatens the strength of our system.

Civic education remains the most promising pathway to bridge these divides and restore faith in our institutions.

Research Roundup: Civic-Ready Students 

This month, our partner, the National Association of State Boards of Education, released a civics-focused issue of their peer-reviewed journal, the State Education Standard.

Titled "Civic-Ready Students," the issue features articles from leading organizations, many of whom are CivxNow coalition partners, that provide a wide variety of recommendations for high-quality civic education, including cognitive science links to experiential learning to balancing foundational knowledge with civil disagreement.  

Coalition Member Spotlight: Honoring Hispanic Heritage Month

In the News

It was a big month for civics: 

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy covered the investment of more than $56 million from private philanthropy to support civic education. 
• The Washington Post and Education Week both explored the announcement of the formation of the America First Policy Institute/White House A250 Coalition. 
• The New York Times detailed More Perfect’s “In Pursuit” initiative—a decades-long "online history essay series aimed at exploring the resilience of American democracy."
• And Justice Sonia Sotomayor told the country that most Americans do not know the difference between a president and a king, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett has a new book out and has been in the news, asserting that “the Constitution is alive and well,” and hoping Americans can learn to trust the Court, imperfect as it may be.

New Members

CivxNow continues to grow, now officially standing at more than 390 member
organizations! The latest additions are:

• Colorado Judicial Institute
  
• Digital Inquiry Group
• Institute for Educational Leadership
• The Civic Success Project

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.