Congressional Conference on Civic Education

The Congressional Conference on Civic Education, the catalyst for Kentucky’s Civic Literacy movement, is a part of the Representative Democracy in America project and convened for the first time in 2003 as a national gathering for those committed to restoring the historic civic mission of our nation’s schools. The summit has convened annually since 2003, serving to compliment the Center for Civic Education’s Campaign to Promote Civic Education through a sustained national movement to strengthen civic education at the state and local levels. Each state is represented at the Conferences by delegations of legislators, education policymakers, educators, and concerned citizens. In addition to assembling campaign delegations from each state, the Conference also draws civic and private sector leaders and key representatives from national educational organizations. At the Congressional Conferences, Kentucky is a noted leader in the national civic education movement, fueled by the passionate work of Secretary Grayson and other prominent Kentucky leaders.

The 2003 Conference concluded with a Conference statement which was endorsed by an overwhelming majority of the delegates. The statement, containing four principals directed at guiding states in strengthening civic education within their borders, has now become the foundation of the movement. Key points in the conference statement are as follows:

• Civic knowledge and engagement are essential to maintaining our representative democracy. While many institutions help to develop Americans’ civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions, schools must have the capacity to prepare students for engaged citizenship. Civic education should be a central purpose of education essential to the well-being of representative democracy.

• Civic education should be seen as a core subject. Well-defined state standards and curricular requirements are necessary to ensure that civic education is taught effectively at each grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade. Strengthening the civic mission of schools must be a shared responsibility of the public and private sectors at the community, local, state, and national levels.

• Policies that support quality teacher education and professional development are important to ensure effective classroom instruction and raise student achievement.

• Well-designed classroom programs that foster an understanding of fundamental constitutional principles through methods such as service learning, discussion of current events, or simulations of democratic processes and procedures are essential to civic education.