When President Biden delivers his State of the Union message to Congress tonight, America’s Supreme Court justices will be in the front row, clad in their black robes.
The Supreme Court, like many institutions in America, is divided over issues like abortion, affirmative action and presidential immunity. But there is one issue where you can find agreement: civic education.
For example, Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett could not be more ideologically different, voting together only 29 percent of the time. But both justices are part of a nationwide civics learning week, now in its second year, the brainchild of a non-profit organization called iCivics.
Founded in 2009 by another justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics works with educators, media and bipartisan leaders to ensure that constitutional democracy is learned by each new generation. Nothing is more urgent today than addressing the gap in American understanding of our system.
This year, Civic Learning Week is being hosted at George Washington University and includes hundreds of virtual and in-person events driving home understanding of what a modern civic education means. The theme this year, “2024 and Beyond: Civic Learning as a Unifying Force,” focuses on the need to make civics a national priority, in order to combat polarization.
According to the 2023 annual Civics Knowledge Survey conducted by the Annenberg Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania in 2023, one in 20 Americans do not know what rights they have under the First Amendment. One in six American are unable to name a branch of government.
The American Bar Association also does an annual survey on civic literacy. In 2023, it found that 85 percent “believe civility is worse compared to 10 years ago.” ABA reports that most blame social media and the media.
As for the Supreme Court, ABA reports that 83 percent “knew it acts as the ultimate authority in interpreting the U.S. Constitution.” Only 59 percent could name John Roberts as the chief justice, and curiously, “more respondents each year have incorrectly gravitated to Clarence Thomas (19 percent).”
Lack of civic knowledge produces a lack of trust in others and in government.
A 2022 study by Stanford University found that sixth graders are learning to distrust and dislike each other at an earlier age than in past decades and have little knowledge of civil society and democracy, finding common ground hard.
Public trust in government has been down for decades but is now at a near record low. In 2023, reports Pew, only a combined 16 percent trust Washington to do what is right “just about always” or “most of the time.” This is the worst measure of this question “in nearly seven decades of polling.”
iCivics is is addressing the civics knowledge gap by making teaching materials available to 145,000 educators and 9 million students annually, free of charge. From games and simulations to fun exercises, students learn about the U.S. branches of government, the Constitution, and their individual rights.
Across the U.S., schools and organizations are recognizing the challenge of raising the bar on civic education, and addressing it head-on:
In Massachusetts, the League of Women Voters and the Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition are requiring curriculum for students in eighth grade and high school that include student-led civic projects. They are also introducing “Civics for Adults” to address topics like democracy, election and the role of Congress.
Following Kentucky’s C-rating in a Civic Health Assessment study, lawmakers are looking at ways to ensure more civic education in high schools by making the civic exam more competitive and offering students the option to take a course in civics.
“Only eight states and the District of Columbia require a full year of high-school civics education,” writes Richard Haas in The Atlantic. “One state (Hawaii) requires a year and a half, 31 require half a year, and 10 require little or none.”
Civics education is a crisis we can fix.
As the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said: “The practice of democracy is not passed down through the gene pool. It must be taught and learned by each new generation.”
Biden will be addressing a divided audience tonight. His State of the Union speech should include a call for more teaching about democratic norms, constitutional principles, and the need for a shared understanding of our role as American citizens.
Tara D. Sonenshine is the resident fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.