PROVIDENCE – In a significant agreement following a federal lawsuit filed four years by a group of local students, state education officials announced Wednesday that Rhode Island will take multiple steps to address and strengthen civics education being taught across the Ocean State’s public schools.
The agreement is in response to the Cook v. McKee class-action lawsuit filed in 2018 – then known as Cook v. Raimondo – by 14 students against the state. They alleged the state breached their rights under the U.S. Constitution by failing to provide students an adequate civics education.
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Learn MoreU.S. District Judge William Smith in Providence dismissed the lawsuit in 2020, ruling that while it is clearly desirable, and even essential, for citizens to understand their civic responsibilities, it’s not something the Constitution contemplates or mandates.
But he warned of a “democracy in peril” and commended the students for bringing the case, which he said “highlights a deep flaw in our national education priorities and policies.”
“Hopefully, others who have the power to address this need will respond appropriately,” Smith wrote. As a result of the agreement between the students and the R.I. Department of Education, the student plaintiffs chose to not appeal Smith’s dismissal with the U.S. Supreme Court.
R.I. Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green said the R.I. Department of Education will establish a Rhode Island Civic Readiness Task Force group to look into specific measure to improve the quality of civics education being taught across the state. The task force, Infante-Green said, will be created no later than Sept. 1, and will consist of 15 members from various stakeholder groups, such as parents, students, educators and advocacy groups. Some of the 14 student plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit, and their counsel, will also be considered as potential task force members, Infante-Green said.
The commissioner said the group will look into ways to improve how civics education is taught in Rhode Island. Among them are possibly adding a half-credit course in both the eighth grade and across high school that would focus on media literacy for students to learn how to effectively utilize social media platforms.
The group will also look into creating methods and resources to support students on how to have respectful conversations where people have different views from their own. Michael Rebell, Center for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University executive director, said Smith’s ruling also stated that civics education is the “best means to deal with this crisis” of not being respectful to one another politically and “maintaining the survival of our democracy.”
The group will also look into implementing the state’s new Civic Literacy Act, signed into law last year. It requires school districts to provide one student-led civics project for students during either middle school or high school. Infante-Green told reporters afterward that it is the state’s goal to have civics education taught across in all grade levels in Rhode Island public schools.
The group is expected to submit an initial report and recommendations to Infante-Green by March 31, 2023.
Additionally, RIDE will establish a diploma seal of civic readiness that will be awarded to graduating high school seniors who completed a capstone civics project and achieved high proficiency in civics education. Infante-Green also said there will be a civics award program that local education agencies can use to recognize middle school students’ civics proficiency.
Infante-Green said when civics education is taught effectively, students are “prepared with the knowledge and skills necessary to become informed engaged citizens.”
“We as a nation has been having adversarial discussions, and we need to find a way to come to the table and discuss our differences in a very productive way,” Infante-Green said. “That’s what we’re hoping will come out of all of this. I’m very excited about this.”
Infante-Green also said state social studies standards, which will include civics and government, history, geography and economics, are currently being finalized by RIDE officials.
Currently, there is no state funding available to local school districts to help support them implement civics education, Infante-Green said. The commissioner did say that she is “always in favor” of advocating for more money to support local school districts.
When asked by Providence Business News if Infante-Green will have conversations with the governor’s office – either with Daniel J. McKee or a newly elected governor – about state funding for civics education, Infante-Green said those conversations “will need to happen” when everything is finalized as how civics education will look in Rhode Island.
(Update: Claifies Center for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University in 8th paragraph)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette. This story also includes reporting from the Associated Press.