Your donation will help us produce journalism like this. Please give today.

America is celebrating its 250^th birthday this year. At a moment when new technologies and other societal changes are reshaping how people access information, make decisions, and participate in civic life, it is more important than ever for anyone with a role in public education to reevaluate and assess the question: 

What steps are being taken to ensure students not only understand their Constitutional rights, but are prepared to use them to strengthen our communities and our democracy?

Civics is not confined to history class, nor high school. It lives in science classrooms from cultivating wonder to debating climate policy; in math classrooms beginning with basic number sense evolving to analyzing public budgets; in English classrooms moving from learning to read into developing the ability to examine persuasive rhetoric; and from classroom discussions to student unions and councils where young people practice democratic debate and take action in ways that are responsible and meaningful to their lives.

These competencies are especially essential in California, where voters regularly decide on high-stakes policy through initiatives and where civic participation has real consequences for budgeting, housing and educational opportunity. 

Civic education fosters the knowledge, skills and dispositions that empower students,beginning as early as transitional kindergarten, to use their voice and understand their rights and responsibilities. It teaches us to engage respectfully with diverse viewpoints and contribute constructively to our communities. 

That goes beyond the memorization of historical facts or the branches of government; it teaches critical thinking across disciplines: how to evaluate sources, separate fact from fiction and make informed decisions that impact public life. 

In California — a state with nearly 40 million residents, a vast and diverse electorate, and one of the nation’s most complex governing systems — teaching young people how government works and how to participate in civic life with respect and empathy is not a luxury. It is a democratic necessity.

Civic Learning Week, March 9 to 13, is an important time to bring civics back to the center of our communities and the lives of students. This nonpartisan week of dialogue and engagement builds awareness of America’s proud democratic traditions. It brings together students, educators, policymakers, and leaders in the public and private sectors to make civic education a priority both nationally and in states and communities across the country.

Yet despite broad public support, civic education in practice remains uneven. The 2022 civics results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the Nation’s Report Card, found that only about one in five eighth graders nationwide demonstrated proficiency in the knowledge and skills related to democratic citizenship, the structure of government, and the principles of the American constitutional system. Students who scored higher on the assessment were 2.4 times more likely to report feeling confident in their ability to explain why it is important to pay attention to and participate in the political process.

California has taken meaningful steps to promote civic learning. The State Seal of Civic Engagement, created through legislation signed in 2017 and adopted by the State Board of Education, recognizes students who demonstrate excellence in civic knowledge and participation, including understanding both the U.S. and California constitutions and completing civic engagement projects that address real community issues. This recognition, affixed to student diplomas or transcripts, provides incentives for deeper learning and highlights civic participation as a valuable skill.

To support equitable access to the SSCE, the state budget established the California Serves Program, which brings the California Department of Education together with California Volunteers to expand service-learning opportunities that help students meet civic engagement criteria. Grants through this program encourage schools and districts to build meaningful service experiences, a proven way to connect classroom learning with real-world civic action. 

The Power of Democracy Civic Learning Initiative — sponsored by the chief justice of California and supported by the Judicial Council and the state superintendent of public instruction — brings judges and civic leaders into classrooms, offers resources for educators and honors exemplary civic learning with annual Civic Learning Awards that recognize schools engaging students in democratic practice. 

And there are many efforts by nonprofit organizations and researchers both statewide and nationally. These efforts matter. But they are not yet reaching every student. California’s ongoing initiatives create meaningful opportunities for broader access to civics education, yet elevating civics to the central role it deserves will require sustained local commitment from students, educators, policymakers and communities.

If civic preparation is essential to our democracy, how is it articulated in the very systems and structures designed to achieve student outcomes? How is civics reflected in school board goals and strategic plans? In priorities and expenditures under each community’s Local Control and Accountability Plan? In staffing decisions, accountability measures and leadership expectations at the state, county, district and school levels? 

As California invests in other large-scale learning efforts, how might educators intentionally embed civic engagement — not only as content to be learned, but as dispositions and skills to be practiced daily?

Strengthening educator support, investing in leadership development, weaving civic learning across the TK–12 experience, and aligning accountability systems with civic outcomes are not peripheral reforms. They are foundational steps toward ensuring that every student, regardless of ZIP code, graduates prepared to participate meaningfully in our democratic society.

California’s future depends on citizens who not only understand how government works, but who are prepared and have agency to make our communities stronger. To uplift voices. To engage in respectful debate. To vote. To volunteer. To question. To lead. Civic education is not “another subject.” It is the foundation of a resilient democracy.

Given that, what are we, individually and collectively, willing to do to elevate civic knowledge, skill, and consciousness at this pivotal juncture?

Alison Yoshimoto-Towery is executive director of the UC/CSU Collaborative for Neuroscience, Diversity and Learning and the California Institute for Law, Neuroscience, and Education at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. She is a member of the California State Board of Education.