Civic Education News Roundup: Mandates for American history museums and exciting news in higher ed.
In case you missed it, check out how the Democracy Rising Collaborative sent judges on a bus tour around the country to explain the importance of judicial independence for a constitutional democracy:
I got to put my classics nerd hat on to write a pair of essays for the 25th anniversary of Project Pericles, a liberal arts consortium for civic learning and community engagement in higher education: “Pericles as Founding Father: Democracy from Athens to America” and “A shining city on a hill: The Periclean Golden Age and liberal education.”
In the news:
The results of the Presidential 1776 Award civics competition on the 4th of July are being disputed: Judges accused of denying Sikh student points in national civics contest, by Lauren Lumpkin for the Washington Post.
Political controversy over museum exhibits on American history has also flared recently.
From Robin Pogrebin and Zachary Small for The New York Times, Trump Orders Warnings Placed at ‘Inaccurate’ Smithsonian History Museum: President Trump said the signage at the National Museum of American History would correct what a disputed White House report described as “extreme political activism.” This followed contentious Congressional hearings: Smithsonian too focused on ‘oppressors and the oppressed,’ say House Republicans, by Anastasia Tsioulcas for NPR (also covered by Robin Pogrebin for the New York Times and Kelsey Ables for The Atlantic). David Blight, professor of American history at Yale University, made an opening statement in the hearing that you can watch on Youtube. Fox News coverage included an op ed from former White House official Douglas MacKinnon about how “the woke left captured the Smithsonian.”
In Philadelphia, Trump administration replaces Philly President’s House slavery exhibit ‘under the cover of darkness’ after monthslong legal battle. The city and activists have vowed to continue the legal fight to restore the original panels that focused on the nine enslaved people held by George Washington at the site. By Carmen Russell-Sluchansky for WHYY public radio. The upshot? By John Garrison Marks for The Atlantic, “How the Trump Administration Made George Washington an Abolitionist: In Philadelphia, the Park Service now downplays the importance of slavery to understanding the first president.”
Civic learning in the spotlight:
Doing Civics for Civics – Hill Day 2026, from CivXNow, the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), and iCivics, who visited the Capitol to advocate for federal funding and legislation for civic education.
We need a Second Founding to build a stronger democracy. Young Americans must lead it. By Yael Bromberg, Esq, and Cornell Williams Brooks for Democracy Docket. Among their recommendations: “Honoring the 250th, we must pass the Youth Voting Rights Act to fulfill the promise of the 26th Amendment” and “We must embrace American Promise’s efforts to ratify a 28th Amendment to regulate campaign finance, now supported by 25 states. A supermajority of Americans support such a constitutional amendment, notably, across partisan lines.”
America at 250: Our Classrooms Are Too Quiet. Civics education must recover an essential ingredient for self-governance: respectful disagreement. By David J. Bobb for Education Week.
This MAGA Influencer Runs a Charity to Teach Kids Civics. Much of the Money Goes to Him Instead. Nick Adams’ Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness has brought in millions in donations and helped him land a State Department appointment, but records show there is almost no indication FLAG was spending that money on its stated mission. By Kali Bomeli for Pro Publica: Pete Hegseth celebrated the registered nonprofit at the National Archives in September, which claimed to have reached 2 million students since 2016.
Civic engagement in higher ed
Campus Compact launched their new Higher Education Democracy Exchange (HEDEX) platform last week to share programs, data, and practitioner contacts in the field of higher education community engagement, together with partners AAC&U and the UVA Karsh Institute for Democracy.
The American Council of Learned Societies was Awarded a $1 Million Henry Luce Foundation Grant for New Program Supporting Civic Thriving in the United States: The Civic Education for Democratic Life Program Aims to Strengthen Community-Engaged Projects in US Colleges and Universities.
With a $250,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wesleyan University is expanding its national, nonpartisan initiative, Democracy250, preparing undergraduate students to do the practical work of democracy by supporting the systems that make free and fair elections possible.
Some recent essays on important considerations for higher ed institutions:
The Case For College Got Too Small: “It turns out there’s something Americans value even more than the economic impact of college: preparing people to be committed citizens, equipped with shared civic values.” By Rajiv Vinnakota for Forbes.
Academic Civics: What Does It Mean to Be a Citizen of Your University? To safeguard the future of the American university, we need to reconnect with our institutions, and one another. By Adam T. Smith, associate dean and secretary of the faculty at Cornell University and a co-chair of its Committee on the Future of the American University, for Inside Higher Ed.
We Say We Believe in Free Inquiry—but Our Classrooms Tell a Different Story. If we want to prepare students to participate in American civic life, we need to start teaching differently. By Mella McCormick for Inside Higher Ed.
A Civic Education That Extends America: Educating the next generation in American civic culture has always been important. Now more than ever, we must extend that promise to all. By Melvin Rogers for Liberalism.org, a response to Civics, Partisanship, and the Academy, by Daniel DiSalvo & Carlo Invernizzi Accetti for National Affair and Higher Education Reform, Civic Thought, and Liberal Education by Peter Berkowitz for Real Clear Education.
Learning from History:
Want stronger readers? Don’t sideline social studies. By Sarah McGrew, Alison Jovanovic, and Lena Morreale Scott for Maryland Matters.
From 1776 to Today: Jonathan Turley on America’s Past and Its Path Forward: As part of the Nixon Foundation’s Shaun and Leland Smith Distinguished Speaker Series, Turley discussed his new book Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.
An Atlanta Museum’s New Look at the Civil War Goes Beyond Relics: The Atlanta History Center replaced an exhibition focused on military history with a reflection of America’s defining conflict. By Rick Rojas for the New York Times.
Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Jill Lepore and Jon Meacham on Lessons from History: two episodes on the Disrupted Podcast from Connecticut Public Television hosted by Khalilah Brown-Dean.
From July 12-18, the Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW) welcomed 20 outstanding high school students to Washington, D.C., for the 2026 National Youth Civics Summit (NYCS).
Civic education in the states
The missing ingredient in civics education is conversation, by Jay Lapeyre for NOLA.com
Perspective | The unfinished promise: Civic education and the future of American democracy, by Charles Oliver for EdNC: “Many of my students come from communities that have historically had limited political representation. At the beginning of the course, some students feel that politics and government exist far away from their everyday lives. Civic education helps reduce that distance by introducing them to individuals who worked to expand rights and opportunities throughout American history.”
Guest column: The future of democracy starts in the classroom, by Aruna Patel (Center for Civic Education) and Jennifer Kallenbach, a We the People teacher in Kidder County, North Dakota, for InForum.
Tech has transformed Missouri. Our teachers’ work remains the same | Opinion By Nacole Boan (Teach For America Missouri) for The Kansas City Star.
Florida’s Investment in Civic Education is paying off. These Middle Schoolers Prove It. For Florida Daily by Lila Seagle is associate director of the Institute for Governance and Civics (IGC) at Florida State University.
To strengthen Kansas schools and their students, we can start with civics in the home, by Lindsey Cormack, associate professor of political science at Stevens Institute of Technology, a JMC Scholar, author of “How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It)”, and host of “Government that Doesn’t Suck.”
Black Texans consider civics education essential, testing less so: A new survey from Texas Southern University’s Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center found that Black Texans are firmly supportive of civics education in principle, but notably more cautious than white voters when that support is translated into specific policy. By Tannistha Sinha for The Defender.
New publications
Portrait of a Citizen: Strategies and Tools for Teaching Action Civics in Grades 6–12. By Darcy Daniels and Denise Furlong for Routledge. Available for pre-order.
Leading Place-Based Community Engagement Initiatives in Higher Education: Promising Practices and Lessons Learned. Edited By Kent Koth and Erica K. Yamamura for Taylor & Francis. Available for pre-order.
From the Academy, A Journal of Academic Renewal from the Martin Center put out its Summer 2026 issue devoted to civic education in higher ed, including its history, a look at Schools for Civic Thought, and new paradigms.
Civic learning resources:
Join the Ballotpedia Volunteer Program: Austin Barraza, Assistant Professor of Political Science at San Diego Mesa College, shared this program recently. In his asynchronous online intro course, he uses the Ballotpedia program (helping to add to their database of contact info and websites for local candidates) as a project-based learning opportunity and asks students to reflect on the experience.
Civics 101 Refresher Course: Why is Congress the way it is? For New Hampshire Public Radio By Michelle Liu and Julia Barnett.
I’ve been listening to First America, a podcast about Native American involvement in the American Revolution on the Pushkin network by Rebecca Nagle and featuring leading Native historians. It’s fascinating, sometimes shocking, and very thoughtfully done.
Speaking of podcasts, The Democracy Group is a hub for podcasts about democracy, civic engagement, and civic education, organized and funded by The McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State. One of their podcasts, Nancy Bynum’s New Faces of Democracy, featured a program for high school girls called DemocraShe on their latest episode.
WYFI Indianapolis, an NPR affiliate, has produced a video series called Simple Civics hosted by Professor of Political Science, Dr. Terri Jett.
Upcoming Events:
Place-Based Justice Network (PBJN) invites you to join our 2026 Summer Institute: Summer of Solidarity. Join a community of higher education and community practitioners committed to values-driven, justice-centered work to reconnect, learn from one another, and strengthen our capacity to act in solidarity with our communities. August 3, 11, and 19.
Andrew Goodman Foundation’s 10th National Civic Leadership Training Summit (NCLTS), a multi-day intensive civic leadership training for the Andrew Goodman Network with an opening ceremony and movie night open to the public. August 4-6 on Zoom.
Gen AI in the Classroom: Tips for Engaging Students in AI Classroom Policy, UC Davis Digital Divestment Roundtable led by Marguerite Mayhall (Kean University) and Ashwin Vaidya (Montclair State University), August 13 at 1pm Eastern.
From the Center for Civic Education, “A little-known provision of the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to protect representative government by reducing a state’s right to full representation in Congress if it denied citizens the right to vote. Yet for more than 150 years, Section Two has remained largely dormant, raising enduring questions about constitutional enforcement, democratic participation, and the relationship between constitutional text and political will. In this special program, filmmaker Todd Drezner and attorney Jared Pettinato discuss Fourteen Section Two, a documentary-in-progress following an effort to revive this overlooked constitutional mechanism.” August 18, 7pm Eastern.
Faith, Freedom, and the Classroom: Navigating the First Amendment and Religious Literacy, an online workshop from the Institute for Curriculum Services (ICS) and the National Constitution Center (NCC), August 25, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST
Fall conferences:
American Political Science Association’s 122nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition: “Democracy Under Threat: How to Understand, Protect, and Rebuild.” September 3 – 6, in Boston, MA. Pre-conference short courses include one hosted by the APSA Working Group on American Civics Undergraduate Course Mandates and another about “Designing Civically Engaged Political Science Pedagogy.”
Frontiers of Democracy 2026 - “The United States at 250: Meeting the Moment for Democracy, in the US and Around the World” conference at Tufts University, October 2-4.
International Association for Research on Service-Learning & Community Engagement (IARSLCE) 2026 Conference at Loyola University New Orleans, October 11-13, 2025.
Co-Creating Change: Collaborative Community Partnerships. The 2026 Service-Learning and Civic Engagement (SLCE) Conference at American University in Washington D.C., Saturday, October 17, 2026
The 2026 Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) Conference: Anchored in Purpose, will be November 8–11, in Houston, TX. The annual CUMU Conference brings us together to explore how urban and metropolitan campuses drive regional development, student success, and community impact.
The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) will hold its 2026 conference in Lexington, Kentucky on November 16-17, 2026. NCoC will convene experts and practitioners to explore what it takes to build civic infrastructure with intention and sustained action.
106th National Council on Social Studies Annual Conference in Chicago, IL, December 4-6, 2026 includes panels on “After the Vote: Civil Discourse on Navigating Division, Rhetoric, and Democratic Outcomes” and “Justice Dialogues: Student-Led Civic Conversations for Social Studies 365.”