We're excited to introduce a revamped State Policy Menu designed to streamline policymakers’ access to K–12 civic education policy recommendations.
This new concise format allows for quick comprehension of complex policy issues, making it easier to capture lawmakers' attention and spark meaningful dialogue. Each one-pager provides a brief overview of a key policy challenge and solution; clear, actionable policy recommendations; and links to relevant legislation, reports, and articles. With this streamlined approach, decisionmakers can quickly grasp the latest policy trends and delve deeper into specific topics as needed.
The state policy menu continues to focus on:
Strengthening civic course requirements;
Increasing funding for civic learning;
Improving professional development for educators;
Aligning state standards with best practices;
Encouraging student engagement in civics;
Prioritizing media literacy, including artificial intelligence, in civic learning; and
Implementing robust accountability measures.
The new policy menu also includes special pages for governors, secretaries of state, and America 250 state commissions.
State coalition members can effectively leverage the new policy menu by using the one-page summaries to engage policymakers in productive conversations, empowering coalition members to advocate and drive action.
Research Roundup: News Literacy in Schools Fuels Students’ Civic Development
Teens receiving news literacy education in school show greater respect for the role of a free press, more trust in media, are more proactive news consumers, and demonstrate stronger media literacy skills according to News Literacy in America, a report released last month by the News Literacy Project (NLP), a CivxNow partner.
NLP surveyed 1,100 teens ages 13–18 during May 2024, and found that only 39 percent of respondents reported media literacy instruction in any of their classes during the 2023–24 school year.
94 percent of respondents support required media literacy instruction in schools.
While CivxNow’s 2024 state policy scan found 37 states reference media literacy instruction in standards, NLP identified only 9 states with news literacy requirements. (NLP distinguishes news literacy from media literacy by explicitly focusing on the credibility of news sources and the role of a free press in our constitutional democracy.)
Six states (CA, CO, DE, FL, OH, and TX) embed news literacy in standards.
Three states (CT, IL, and NJ) have news literacy instructional requirements.
The report concludes with six recommendations:
Strengthen state media literacy policies...;
Go back to the basics...;
Build appreciation for the role of a free press...;
Foster an understanding of journalistic best practices...;
Inoculate against the spread of mis- and disinformation; and
Teach the personal and civic benefits of healthy news habits....
InnovateEDU sits at the intersection of technology and educational transformation, making them a vital CivxNow partner in preparing students for informed civic participation in an AI-powered world. Their commitment to bridging gaps in data, policy, and practice—while centering equity—aligns perfectly with civic learning in the digital age.
On March 28, 2025, InnovateEDU, through its EDSAFE AI Alliance project, will lead a nationwide day of action exploring, "What is AI?"—a critical question for democratic citizenship in the 21st century. AI Literacy Day will bring together students, educators, and communities across the country to build AI literacy through local and national events, classroom lessons and resources, and professional development opportunities. Learn more about this effort and how you can get involved in this nationwide initiative at ailiteracyday.org.
Civic Holidays
Between this newsletter and the next, our partners are celebrating two civic holidays: Thanksgiving and Bill of Rights Day. We are grateful for the leadership of our Thanksgiving hub lead, the Lincoln Presidential Foundation, who gathered resources from our coalition members to empower educators to celebrate Thanksgiving, and for the leadership of our Bill of Rights Day hub lead, the National Constitution Center, for coordinating the work of coalition members in celebrating this important holiday.
On the Road with CivxNow
National Civics Bee Championships
The inaugural 2024 National Civics Bee® Championship brought together finalists from 27 states to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation headquarters in Washington, D.C., on November 12, to showcase finalists’ “knowledge about American democracy [and] civics, writing, and public speaking skills” as they competed for scholarship prizes in front of a huge live and virtual audience. In an exciting finish, students from Alaska, Iowa, and New Mexico earned the top three awards. Learn more about the Bee and watch the recording of the finals!
Jack Miller Center National Summit on Civic Education
The Jack Miller Center (JMC) hosted its third annual National Summit on Civic Education in Philadelphia November 14–15. iCivics’ Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy Shawn Healy and Arizona State University Professor Paul Carresse kicked off the conference with a session on “State Policy Actions in Civic Education.”
A series of plenary and breakout sessions followed over the course of the next day, with diverse topics like civics in parochial schools and student competitions to scale civic learning. Among the highlights was an evening reception at the National Constitution Center featuring a conversation with Bari Weiss of The Free Press.
National Student Vote Summit
This week, the Students Learn Students Vote (SLSV) Coalition’s annual National Student Vote Summit in College Park, Md., brought together nonprofit leaders, campus staff, administrators, faculty members, philanthropic partners, and students from across the country to build connections within the nonpartisan student democratic engagement space.
Attendees shared valuable lessons learned after another year of campus voter engagement and a contentious election cycle, provided comprehensive training and resources, and ignited a shared momentum toward the field’s collective goals for 2025 and beyond. CivxNow was proud to represent the K–12 civic learning community at the Summit and is proud to participate in the SLSV Coalition year-round.
In the News
In the leadup to the election, Civic Education took a piece of the media spotlight, and how the new administration will approach education in general has become a topic of media discussion.
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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