Recommendations to Improve Civic Education Released

Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch

The Indiana Bar Foundation and Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch have released recommendations to improve civic education throughout Indiana. The recommendations were made by the Civic Education Task Force, which was created “in an effort to research ways to improve pedagogy and practices in civic education and improve Indiana’s overall civic health.”

Crouch says over the last year, the task force heard testimony from civic education experts from throughout the U.S., as well as Hoosier educators. 

“The Civic Education Task Force was created to again shine a light on the importance of civic education and renew our collective commitment to making sure Hoosiers have the tools they need to ensure our communities and our democracy remain strong,” Crouch said in the report. “Indiana is a state dedicated to improving our civic health, and that starts with civic education.”

The report’s recommendations were broken into two phases. The first phase calls for eight recommendations that are to be implemented between 2021-2023. Some of the recommendations include:

• Establish a democracy certified school program similar to that found in other states and modeled
  after the Indiana STEM certification program to encourage a holistic approach and improvement in
  civic education.
• Establishing a recognition program to recognize teachers, students, administrators and schools for showing exemplary outcomes in civic learning;
• Providing more quality opportunities and resources for teachers to seek professional development in civics; and
• Creating a sustaining group or forum focused on promoting and improving civic education

The second phase recommendations are encouraged to be implemented between 2024-2026. They include a focus on broader policy changes to educational standards, pre-service teacher education, assessment and accountability.

“These recommendations identify areas that Indiana can improve in, innovate in and restructure within the field of civic education,” Crouch said. “I look forward to assisting policymakers and community stakeholders in implementing these recommendations over the coming years and to improve civic education opportunities for all Hoosiers in their communities and schools.”

You can view the full report and recommendations in the document below or by clicking here.