policy agenda

Action in progress

RICLC is currently working to advance legislation in the Rhode Island State Legislature to support essential funding for civics education in schools across Rhode Island.

There is a pressing need for this funding. According to RICLC’s 2022 State of Civic Education In Rhode Island report:

Only 21% of administrators said their district has standalone civics courses.

Together, we can increase funding for civics education in Rhode Island and ensure that every young person in the Ocean State has high-quality civic learning opportunities so they have the skills and knowledge needed to be participants in our democracy.

55% of teachers don’t have access to civics-related professional development.

Less than 50% of RI students feel they have the skills they need to take action on issues they care about.

Prior Advocacy wins

  • Successfully advocated for passage of the 2021 Civics Literacy Act, mandating civic learning proficiency and a student-led civic project for real-world learning.

  • RICLC members served on the RI History Social Studies Advisory Committee to support the revision of social studies standards and the development of guidance for these standards.

  • RICLC members were appointed to the Civic Readiness Task Force to advise the Commissioner on how to define “civic readiness” and what support is needed.

  • Collaborated with the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) to release The State of Civics Education in RI. This report summarizes the findings of a baseline survey on civic learning experiences in RI that reached over 160 school educators and over 970 students across 30 different districts.