Sec. 2. Findings

311 words·~1 min read·/bill/118/hr/1387/ih/section-2

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Congress finds the following: The dearth of civics lessons available to students across the United States has helped to foster a political climate that is deeply partisan and divided. Polarization in the United States has fractured public morale in our democratic institutions and has created an environment in which people are less likely to be well-informed on the processes of our constitutional republic, the current state of affairs, and the importance of participating in the political process.

It is impossible to tell the true, full history of this Nation and recognize the power of our representative democracy without discussing the painful and powerful history of the civil rights movement. It is incumbent on Congress to ensure the full history of our great Nation is being taught to the next generation of leaders. According to the Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, in 2022— only 47 percent of people in the United States surveyed were capable of naming all 3 branches of government, while 25 percent of Americans were not able to name any of the branches of government; less than half of Americans (46 percent) correctly stated that the Supreme Court has the final responsibility for determining the constitutionality of laws if the President and Supreme Court disagree; and 26 percent could not name any of the rights guaranteed under the First Amendment.

In 2018, only 24 percent of eighth graders were found to have performed at or above the proficient level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress civics exam conducted by the National Center of Education Studies. A lack of knowledge regarding the structural basics of our constitutional republic and the history of our struggle for suffrage and civil rights creates an increasingly ill-equipped electorate which over time, can, and will continue to, contribute to a weakened democracy.