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.
Research Roundup: Study Shows Equitable Access to Civics
Why it matters: Direct instruction in civics emphasizing politics and government, citizenship, and international affairs, coupled with evidence-based practices like civics-oriented field trips, writing long-form responses and opinion pieces, and political debates and discussions, propels students’ civic development.
Go deeper: AIR researchers Corey Savage and Saki Ikoma analyzed descriptive data from the 2018 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Civics for 8th grade students enrolled in courses where civics was a primary or partial focus. Beyond demographics, urban students benefited from greater access than their suburban and rural peers. Exposure to civics content and instructional approaches also varied by school type, with charter schools ranking highest on most measures. The researchers acknowledged that access does not equal quality, nor has it closed the achievement gaps between demographic groups on the NAEP Civics Assessment.
Civic Learning Week 2024: Important Reminders
We’re thrilled to share the following CivXNow members selected for showcase events during Civic Learning Week (CLW):
American Historical Association
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
DemocracyReady NY
Education Development Center, Inc.
GenerationCitizen
Living Room Conversations
Mikva Challenge
National Constitution Center
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and Thinking Nation
New American History/SS Chat
Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
Software Information Industry Association (SIIA)
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
Sneak Peek! The CLW Toolkit will be released on the website soon. It will include resources that you can share with your communications colleagues to spread the word about the showcase events and opportunities to engage throughout the week.
In state news, InsiderNJ reports that New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law S2304/A1271 which provides the state’s 6–12 students one day of excused absence per school year to attend a civic event. And Wisconsin is divided on the aforementioned legislation requiring high school civics, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
Education Week reports on a new study from the Center for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University, that makes the case for authentic assessment of students’ civic development.
In global news, The Cornell Chronicle reports on the backsliding of democracy worldwide, even in wealthy countries.
All Member Meeting Recap
Kicking off the new year with more than 80 coalition members, together we:
Learned about opportunities to coordinate Civic Holiday Engagement from Coalition Member Jahnavi Rao.
Finalized action plans for Civic Learning Week this March.
A reminder that our next meeting will be on Thursday, March 28, instead of March 14 to allow time to debrief Civic Learning Week.
Coalition Member Spotlight
Libraries are central to the civic life of communities, including preparing young people for informed engagement in our constitutional democracy.
CivXNow coalition member EveryLibrary sustains this commitment and works with other national and state-level library, museum, and archives organizations. Explore this one-pager EveryLibrary created in collaboration with CivXNow on how your community library can engage in Civic Learning Week. You can also contact Tim Cherubini to partner with libraries on 21st century civic learning.
New Members
CivXNow continues to grow, now officially standing at more than 320 member organizations! The latest additions are:
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.
