NASBE’s Standard Spotlights Ways States Can Strengthen Civics Learning

Alexandria, VA ‒ Ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026, the latest issue of NASBE’s State Education Standard explores how states can expand and improve civics learning to prepare the next generation of citizens.

While authors in this issue offer varied perspectives and propose different actions for state leaders, they agree on a central point: high-quality civics education is essential to preserving and strengthening American democracy. More and better civics, they argue, will inspire students to become engaged, thoughtful citizens, equipped with the knowledge, skills, and agency to participate in civic life and engage in reasoned, respectful discourse across differences.

Harvard University’s Danielle Allen, Paul Carrese of Arizona State University, and iCivics’ Louise Dubé lead the issue by revisiting a project they launched five years ago to reinvigorate civics learning. Their consensus report on the key elements of high-quality civics learning has guided districts and states across the country.

Chester E. Finn Jr. of the Hoover and Fordham Institutes lays out six ways state leaders can bolster civics education and suggests they have broad public backing to take action.

Jessica Sutter, a former DC state board member, and Audra Watson from the Institute for Citizens and Scholars present data showing young people’s dimmed attitudes toward democratic participation. They urge states and districts to focus on increasing opportunities for student civic engagement.

Turnaround for Children’s Dr. Pamela Cantor, MD, Fernande Raine of History Co:Lab, Susan Rivers of iThrive Games Foundation explore the intersection of civics and adolescent development with an essay on what research reveals about how experiencing civics in action engages young people and serves their developmental needs.

To encourage schools to place greater emphasis on nurturing future citizens, a dozen states are acknowledging excellence in civics learning through diploma seals and other means, write Andrea Benites, Lisa Boudreau, and Shawn Healy from iCivics. They urge more states to follow suit.

Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, a leading expert in youth civic engagement, and Mary Ellen Daneels from Illinois Civics Hub describe the decade following Illinois’s mandate of a high school civics course. They highlight the work of Illinois Democracy Schools, which were created through collaborative community and organizational efforts to foster faithful implementation of high-quality civic learning.

NAGB’s Martin West, also a Massachusetts state board member, underscores the need to improve civics education and explains how the national civics test can shed light on the lackluster state of civics education nationally, and soon, individual state progress.

Bernice Butler, executive director of the DC state board, and Anna Mayer, its former student member, describe how the board has made youth involvement in governance meaningful. Ross Wiener, an education consultant, details three ways state boards can ensure that students’ everyday school experience models what it means to live into America’s ideals of government.

Finally, in the NASBE Interview, Thinking Nation’s Zachary Cote urges states to foster students’ historical thinking as a key civic disposition. He shares examples of how improved teaching of history builds more informed citizens.

Read the September issue of the State Education Standard, “Civic-Ready Students.”

NASBE serves as the only membership organization for state boards of education. A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, NASBE elevates state board members’ voices in national and state policymaking, facilitates the exchange of informed ideas, and supports members in advancing equity and excellence in public education for students of all races, genders, and circumstances. Learn more at www.nasbe.org

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