Civics education reform must require local efforts to adjust civics education school district by district. We cannot and should not prescribe a one-size-fits-all series of policy information efforts at the local level. We provide these suggestions as general models for reforming education at the heart of our civic life–our communities
Local Education Authorities
Civics education reformers should seek to involve themselves in the work of local education authorities (school boards), by attending meetings, testifying before them, and running for membership in them. Reformers should ensure that local education authorities exercise proper oversight on the content of civics education and not delegate their oversight role to administrators and teachers. Local education authorities should be willing to condition school financing on proper civics instruction.
Textbook Adoption Committees
Civics education reformers should dedicate themselves to work on textbook adoption committees, especially those on American History and American Government. They should work to ensure that school districts use proper civics and history textbooks.
Civics Curricula
Civics education reformers should exercise rigorous oversight on civics and history classes, to ensure they include no action civics or radical propaganda.
State Mandates
Local education radicals will often excuse their choices by pointing to state education mandates. Civics education reformers should carefully examine the language of state mandates and ensure that each school district’s civics and history classes preserve the best possible education allowable under these state mandates.
Local Policy Toolkit
Civics reformers should use the Local Policy Toolkit to learn how to inform policymakers and fellow constituents about action civics and proper civics education.
Pledges
We provide the following pledges for school board candidates, state office candidates, and voters to commit themselves to restoring American civics education and to fighting against that which threatens it.