State Civic Education Requirements. CIRCLE Fact Sheet
"This fact sheet summarizes state requirements related to civic education, which means learning about citizenship, government, law, current events, and related topics. Civic education is most directly addressed in courses labeled "civics," "government," or "U.S. government." Social studies is a broader category that also includes such disciplines as history, economics, and geography. However, standards and tests in the social studies often include content relevant to civics. Thus the authors examine requirements for the social studies with a special emphasis on provisions that relate explicitly or implicitly to civics and government. What states "should" require is a complex and controversial matter, dependent on what constitutes good citizenship and how states should influence education. This fact sheet, however, is a strictly factual analysis that is meant to inform debates about policy by summarizing the state requirements that are now in place. (Contains 4 figures, 2 tables, 1 footnote, and 11 notes.)"