This Spring, CivXNow State Policy Task Force members made their priorities a reality, signaling continued momentum for civic education. Since January, the CivXNow policy team tracked 131 bills in 38 states pertaining to civic education. 76 of these bills aligned with the CivXNow state policy menu. What follows is a summary of the significant policy successes this session.
The New Hampshire Civics coalition led advocacy efforts 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 bipartisan bill awaits Governor Chris Sununu’s signature.
Seven years after legislators in Minnesotaintroduced legislation requiring a civics course for credit to high school juniors and seniors, the provision was included in this year’s final omnibus education package. Governor Tim Walz signed the bill on May 24th. Rollout starts in the 2024–25 school year. The Minnesota Civic Education Coalition was also successful in securing $300K in funding for civic programming.
In Indiana, $500K was appropriated in the state education budget for civics programming. This is an increase of $200K over last year. This initiative was led by Indiana Bar Foundation, a CiviXNow affiliate.
Maine state Rep. Morgan Rielly (D) led a bipartisan charge in the House to require the Secretary of State to study the efficacy, feasibility, and benefits of appointing a deputy secretary of state to coordinate civics engagement and education matters. The bill passed two days before the legislature’s adjournment. The CivXNow state policy team is consulting with Rep. Rielly, Deputy Secretary Joann Bautista, and Secretary Shenna Bellows on this project.
In the coming school year, teachers from across the Commonwealth of Kentuckywill pilot the new Kentucky Civic Seal. Sponsored by Kentucky's Secretary of State, Michael Adams, the Seal will recognize students who demonstrate good citizenship by completing a student-designed civic engagement project, possessing knowledge of governance and democratic principles, practicing information literacy, and engaging in self-reflection.
Montana’s State Board of Education adopted a high school requirement this spring.
In Connecticut, Rep. Smith sponsored a civics and media literacy task force bill, and Rep. Michel offered a similar bill. On June 8, the legislature concurred unanimously on Rep. Michel’s version of the bill.
Progress to Build On
In Alaska, the upper chamber adopted language for a required social studies course and civics assessment exam to graduate high school beginning in the fall of 2024. The Senate unanimously passed the requirements in Senate Bill 29. It is anticipated that the bill will be taken up in the House for consideration in January 2024.
And Maryland’s Senate passed legislation to adopt civic seals, but the legislature adjourned prior to consideration in the House. The Maryland Civic Education Coalition anticipates continued momentum behind this legislation next session.
The newly minted MissouriCivic Learning Coalition worked with Rep. Jim Murphy on a bill to start a media literacy pilot program at the Department of Education. Rep. Murphy worked to pass similar legislation for the past four years. The proposal seemed promising as it was wrapped into a larger education package during conference committee negotiations. Unfortunately, the larger education bill did not pass during the session’s final week.
We are also in the midst of finalizing an update to our 50 State Policy Scan, expanding the number of variables measured. This scan serves as a valuable resource for the field and benchmark for states to measure themselves against. We anticipate publishing the revised scan later this summer with updates to our interactive map on the CivXNow website.
August is a month of summer recess for Members of Congress, when most return to their states and districts to meet with constituents. It’s critical that our Coalition and all friends of civic learning from coast to coast capitalize on this time and engage your state’s delegation in conversation about the importance of protecting and expanding federal investments in civics and history education.
Whether it’s attending a town hall, scheduling a one-on-one meeting with your representative or senators, setting up a call with district office staff, disseminating this grassroots take action toolkit amongst your networks, or inviting members on a tour of a new project or initiative at your school or organization, let’s do civics for civics together this summer as we continue our advocacy and strengthen the #CivXNow movement! Please reach out to iCivics Federal Policy Manager Abbie Kaplan with any questions.
Research Roundup
In March 2023, C.H. Clark published “Civic education’s relationship to affective partisan divides later in life” in Education, Citizenship, and Social Justice, drawing upon data from 3,557 adults surveyed prior to the 2016 presidential election. Respondents were asked to recall their high school civic learning opportunities and also to answer a battery of questions assessing their “partisan social identity” in an effort to measure “affective political polarization,” or the “dislike or distrust of opposing partisans.”
Civic education advocates are wont to make the case that strengthened civic learning opportunities across students’ educational trajectories will reduce the toxic political polarization that seemingly threatens the functioning and sustainability of our constitutional democracy.
Zeroing in on controversial issues discussions and community service projects, Clark concluded that controversial issues discussions correlate with reduced polarization among younger respondents, but increased polarization among older participants. This may speak to the evolution of this promising practice over time. As for community service projects, they too reduced polarization, particularly among those with a high partisan social identity, speaking to the moderating forces of working in a diverse group on issues of common concern.
Held between Juneteenth and 4th of July, Civic Season unites our oldest federal holiday with our newest in a summertime celebration of who we are as a nation, how we got here, and where we want to go next.
Whether you want to visit an exhibit or listen to a podcast, have five minutes or all day, there is something for you! Browse, dive deep, check out featured events, and build and share your itinerary at TheCivicSeason.com. Check out the Discover Your Story This Civic Season sheet for quick ways to join in the celebration.
Looking for a collection of learning resources for K–16 educators, students, scout troops, and youth organizations participating in the Civic Season from Juneteenth to the 4th of July and beyond? Check out the Civic Season resource guide from New American History!
New Members
The CivXNow Coalition continues to grow, now standing at more than 305 member organizations! The latest additions include:
The Coalition remains deeply appreciative of member efforts and of all we have accomplished 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 Coalition members, thank you for your partnership.
If you are part of an organization interested in joining the CivXNow Coalition or learning more, please contact us at CivXNow@icivics.org.
Our Mission
CivXNow is a coalition of partners from diverse viewpoints working to create a culture shift that elevates civic education and engagement as a national priority in order to protect and strengthen America’s constitutional democracy. This includes building a shared commitment to ensure that all young people are prepared to assume their rights and responsibilities to participate in civic life and address the issues facing students, their families, and communities in our increasingly dynamic, polarized, and digital society.
To achieve this goal, CivXNow advocates for bipartisan federal and state legislation that supports implementation of state and local policies that reimagine and deliver relevant, inclusive, and engaging K–12 civic learning, both in- and out-of-school.
A Team Effort
The CivXNow team produces this newsletter each month.
We are grateful for the energy, time, and guidance of the CivXNow Advisory Council and to many, many others who support individual projects.
