Now Available: 2024 Civic Education State Policy Scan Results
Research Roundup: Civic Seal in the Bluegrass State
Civic Holidays
Coalition Member Spotlight: Close Up Foundation
On the Road with CivxNow
In the News
New Members
Now Available:
2024 Civic Education State Policy Scan Results
The 2024 state policy scan is complete and reflected on an updated CivxNow interactive national map. Since its inception, state policy scan data is used by educators, state policymakers, civic learning advocates, and the press to understand the national K-12 civic education landscape and how individual states fare on policies articulated in the CivxNow State Policy Menu.
Key takeaways from the 2024 state policy scan:
High School
As of August of 2024, 35 states and DC have statutes that require a stand-alone civics course for high school students.
Middle School
Five states require middle school students to take a stand-alone civics course. However, 46 states and DC report that their middle school social studies standards include civics, but the intensity of each state's civics standards vary significantly.
Assessments
In 2024, 29 states reported a civics assessment requirement. Twenty states said their assessment is a graduation requirement, and the remaining nine states that their assessment tracks students’ proficiency.
Assessments come in a variety of forms, but the most common are knowledge-based exams. Many states also have an end-of-course exam, and some offer a project-based assessment. Project-based assessments can provide a more effective and authentic way to demonstrate students’ civic skills and dispositions.
Recognition of Excellence in Civics
In 2024, thirteen state programs that recognize excellence in civics, which includes civic seals for students, school, and/ or district recognition programs.
Service Learning
In 2024, 40 states and DC allow districts to offer students credit for service-learning opportunities. Most states defer to school districts to offer credit.
Funding and Professional Development
In 2024, two new questions were added to the state policy scan gauging state funding for civic education programs and state provision of teacher professional development in civics. Seventeen states provide funding for K–12 civic education through the appropriations process. Thirty-five states plus DC offer social studies teachers professional development opportunities in civics.
Research Roundup: Civic Seal in the Bluegrass State
The Kentucky Civic Seal program is unique in its far-reaching yet locally adaptable criteria and its sponsorship from Secretary of State Michael Adams (R). The Kentucky Civic Learning Coalition published a helpful report on the Bluegrass State’s innovative civic seal program as the carrot-based approach to civic learning expands across politically and geographically diverse states.
Titled “United We Stand,” the report details four criteria for student attainment of civic seal.
Acivic engagement project where students identify and research a topic of their choice, consult pluralistic perspectives, design and implement a project addressing the issue, and later reflect on these efforts. Given resource constraints, projects need not transcend the classroom or school in scope.
Knowledge of democratic government and principles as demonstrated by completing relevant coursework, mastery of state standards, and authentic summative assessments like student portfolios, projects, or performances.
Information literacy, including responsible consumption and production of digital civic information.
Self-reflection, where students demonstrate civic knowledge, skills, and commitments through planning, reflecting upon, and sharing their civic learning experiences.
Unlike other states, elementary, middle, and high school students alike can earn Kentucky’s civic seal. As peer states contemplate civic seal programs of their own, they should consult the “United We Stand” report given its comprehensive approach to students’ civic development and design with local context in mind, allowing significant adaptability to ensure that civic seal are universally accessible to K–12 students.
Civic Holidays
Each month, our coalition members join the nation in celebrating key civic holidays and use these occasions to celebrate the role education plays in preparing young people to invest themselves in and strengthen our nation’s constitutional democracy.
There were a number of civic holidays in September and we’d like to thank our partners for helping coordinate our field’s efforts:
In addition to their own efforts, the National Constitution Center gathered key resources from across the field to celebrate Constitution Day (which also corresponded with National Voter Registration Day this year).
Team Democracy helped coordinate our members’ celebration of Democracy Day.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History gathered resources to celebrate civic learning during Hispanic Heritage Month which is still ongoing.
We thank these organizational leaders and all of our coalition members for lifting up civic learning during these holidays. We look forward to celebrating upcoming civic holidays with you!
Member Spotlight: Close Up Foundation
For more than 50 years, CivxNow partnerClose Up Foundationhas served as a leading nonpartisan civic education organization that empowers young people with the skills to actively engage in our nation’s democracy.
Along with partner organizations, Close Up recently hosted America in One Room: The Youth Vote. This historic gathering brought together a nationally representative and scientific sample of 500 first-time voters from across the country to deliberate key policy issues facing the nation and highlight youth voices and opinions in our country.
This fall, in partnership with the Deliberative Democracy Lab at Stanford University, Close Up is hosting a series of national online deliberations for middle school, high school, and university students. The national online deliberations are open to individual students or schools to participate. Close Up encourages fellow CivxNow partners to share this opportunity with their respective networks to encourage students to participate. Contact Urmila Oberoi, Director of Strategic Engagement, to learn more about the national deliberations and discuss other ways to collaborate.
On the Road with CivxNow
120th APSA Annual Meeting
iCivics’ Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy Shawn Healy moderated a panel discussion at the American Political Science Association’s annual conference in Philadelphia earlier this month. The session focused on “Political Science’s Role in the Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Roadmap,” and featured two of EAD’s principal investigators, Paul Carrese of Arizona State University and Peter Levine of Tufts University. The panelists called for higher education to align with K–12 American history and civics content and pedagogy and to prepare future educators to be EAD-ready.
Youth 250 Workshop for America250 Utah™
We were thrilled to participate in an exciting youth workshop alongside museums and cultural institutions as we prepare to commemorate 250 years since our nation’s founding at the Utah State Capitol. The Youth 250 event invited young voices to shape everything from the vibe to swag to the playlists of the festivals, parades, and exhibitions that will be part of America250 Utah celebrations.
The workshop fostered a collaborative environment for dreaming, scheming, and envisioning how we celebrate our civic identity. Participants engaged in meaningful discussions about the present and co-created foundations for how we can honor our commitments as a nation. This interactive experience not only offered the chance to connect with others passionate about shaping our nation’s future but also equipped attendees with innovative tools in human-centered design. The Youth250 Initiative will amplify the voices of GenZ, ensuring their perspectives guide celebrations leading up to 2026. The event was sponsored by Made By Us and the Utah Historical Society.
Utah Council for the Social Studies
CivxNow was proud to attend the annual Utah Council for Social Studies conference at Butler Middle School in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, where we engaged with educators on a wide range of vital topics. The conference featured presentations from cultural institutions, educators, and subject matter experts who shared their thoughts on teaching the election, explorations of ethnic studies in education, and insights into tracing the food supply chain.
The CivxNow team was on-hand to provide free resources to support civic education, encouraging educators to sign up for the Teachers Advancing Civic Learning (TACL) initiative. Emphasizing the theme “Civics in Action,” we aimed to inspire attendees to engage, educate, and empower their students in understanding and participating in civic life. It was an enriching experience that highlighted the importance of equipping educators with the tools they need to foster informed and active citizens.
In the News
As we head into the homestretch before the election, civics is increasingly in the news:
The Yale Daily News reported on Yale alumni (including iCivics’ own Louise Dubé) discussing the challenges of teaching this year's election in the Yale Daily News.
New Members
CivxNow continues to grow, now officially standing at over 345 member organizations! The latest addition is:
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 atCivxNow@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.
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