New bill puts emphasis on civics in K-12 classrooms

Bay State students would have to learn about voting, government, media literacy and complete a civics project before graduation as part of legislation being pushed by lawmakers to prioritize civics education.

“This has been a long time coming for Massachusetts,” said Casey Cullen of the Massachusetts Civics Learning Coalition. “There are states that have been ahead of us. I’m glad to see Massachusetts is coming up and looking at civics in a new light.”

The bill calls for students to learn about the Constitution, citizenship, local history and government, the Declaration of Independence, media literacy and the electoral process. It would also create a “Civics Trust Fund” that would provide teacher training and support for districts.

The bill is meant to ensure all students have access to civics learning no matter their background, proponents say. Students in low-income schools are half as likely to study how laws are made, according to Generation Citizen, a national group promoting civics in schools.

The bill, passed by both the House and Senate, is now in conference committee.

The push for a more robust civics education in schools comes as only a quarter of Americans can name all three branches of government, according to the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

“At a time when roughly three-quarters of the citizens do not know the three branches of government and more people know who the Three Stooges

‘This has been a long time coming for Massachusetts . ... I’m glad to see Massachusetts is coming up and looking at civics in a new light.’ — CASEY CULLEN Massachusetts Civics Learning Coalition

are, we need to recommit ourselves to civic education,” Steven M. Rothstein, executive director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, said in a statement.

Civics lessons often got forgotten over the years as many schools emphasized science, engineering and math, while standardized tests focused on math and English, experts say.

But critics say the proposed changes will only “dumb down” history lessons.

“Any efforts at K-12 civic education should start and end with students acquiring an enduring knowledge of U.S. history,” said Jamie Gass, director of the Center for School Reform at the Pioneer Institute. “As we speak, the state is also considering approval of dumbed-down U.S. history standards that replace deeper civic knowledge with a vague, so-called ‘service learning’ outlook. None of this has been a very good civics lesson for Bay State schoolchildren.”