Civics education is the study of the rights and responsibilities of citizens, the structure and function of government, and the principles of democracy, aiming to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary for active and informed participation in civic life. Currently in Kentucky, this is not provided to all students, and what little civics programming we have is not enough for students to become involved members of their community after graduation.

Currently, the civics education requirement in Kentucky mandates students must pass a 100-question civics test with a 60% or higher. However, this has recently been revised with House Bill 535. Starting for freshmen in the 2025-2026 school year, students will have the option to complete a one-half civic literacy credit, either in addition to the existing three required social studies classes or embedded in them, or scoring a 70% or higher on the civics literacy test. 

The test consists of one hundred questions drawn from the civics test administered to immigrants seeking to become citizens, so the questions are simple facts about our country and governance, and have nothing to do with how students can become civically engaged citizens beyond graduation. If students have to decide between taking a semester-long extra social studies class, and a test with questions that they learned in elementary school and have access to memorizing, many students will pick that test – even if it is inadequate to prepare them for civic literacy – because in some cases they don’t realize the significance of civics in America. 

Lucinda, a sophomore at Meade County High School, has taken the civics test requirement to graduate and said that it felt like a simple US history test. 

“It’s kind of stuff that I feel like you already know, or you’ve learned in your U.S. History classes,” she said. “The farthest it goes is like how many senators are there in the Senate. Obviously that’s important but it’s not really teaching you how our government works, and how stuff gets done, and how you can get involved.” She continues to highlight her concerns for other students by stating, “I think that it’s actually hurting them [my peers] because it’s giving them this false idea of civics and they’re not really getting an accurate representation of our government and our society and our economy.”

Maya, a senior at duPont Manual High School, said that the test had nothing to do with civics, it was all history and Kentucky-based facts. “It was numbers and history,” she said.“It’s not even information we learn in school, it’s like common knowledge.” 

Maya, like several others who took AP U.S. History at Manual, took the test in her social studies class on a random day with little warning or preparation beforehand. The casual, almost unimportant atmosphere of the testing environment didn’t stress the importance of civics to students. 

This test isn’t about civics; it's about the memorization of U.S. History facts to earn the graduation requirement credit. Labeling it as a civics test makes students misinterpret what civics really is, and why it is important for us to learn and live by, far beyond our high school careers.  

The non-partisan organization Civx Now’s research found that, “students who receive a comprehensive and high-quality civic education are more likely to be informed and actively engaged citizens and voters.” Specifically, young adults who received more robust civic education were able to then complete college and develop employable skills, vote and discuss current issues at home, and volunteer and work on community issues. These skills are necessary to maintain our country’s democracy, now more than ever. 

In fact, the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, (CIRCLE), found that in Kentucky there was a 21.8% youth (ages 18-29) turnout rate of voting in the 2022 midterm election. Based on the lack of civics education in schools, it is plausible that the 78.2% of young adults who choose not to vote may not know how to vote, or how important the responsibility of voting is, due to the lack of civics education in schools. CIRCLE outlines that youth aren’t apathetic about politics, but foundational civic learning is neglected; “our analysis revealed, these opportunities are not equitably distributed. Among teens who said they were interested, 69% were able to take a course about U.S. government and institutions—meaning almost a third of youth could not. Even if they know the basic process on how to cast a vote in person, youth may not be aware of how to research candidates and what factors they should consider when voting, leading them to choose to not vote at all If students aren’t being educated on the importance of local roles of government, they won’t care enough to cast their votes, but that means we won’t hear the perspectives of Kentucky’s youth. 

Young voices are vital to hear to shape the future. The world that current lawmakers are shaping is being dictated by adults because kids under 18 aren’t able to vote. However, the laws and regulations are still affecting youth and will continue into adulthood, so it is important for young people to understand the implementations of all the policies being put into place, especially today. Teaching the importance of civic engagement encourages students to start advocating in any way they can to get their voice heard. Without creating civically engaged citizens, future generations will lack the initiative to make positive change. 

Furthermore, Kentucky’s Gen-Z contributes a different perspective to lawmaking. They are the first generation to grow up in the world of social media, meaning they will experience changes to state policies differently than older generations. They are currently experiencing the consequences from past decisions, so it is important for the government to hear their voices in order to see if our current systems are effective. 

The best way to gain more youth voting participation is to stress the importance of it and educate them on how to be a contributing citizen through civics education. In order to achieve this, civics needs to become a year-long course requirement. Rebecca Winthrop, Director of the Center for Universal Education, recommends the following structure for an effective civics course in research for the Brookings Institution: 

Civic knowledge and skills: processes of government, prevalent political ideologies, and constitutional rights. This aspect of the course will help build background on our government and how it connects to students. However, this will be different from a regular U.S. History class because it will focus more on current events and help students build a personal connection to political ideologies. Teachers should provide the facts of each party and recent events, and must be trained to ensure no political biases are present in the lessons. With this background, students can make informed decisions about what their political stances are.

Civic values and dispositions: civil discourse, free speech, engagement with differing perspectives. The class should encourage open discussions of current political topics, hold mock debates, and practice freedom of speech to learn how to respectfully share opinions, an important skill to carry on into adulthood in all aspects of life.

Civic behaviors: development of civic agency and confidence to vote, volunteer, attend public meetings, and engage with communities. Through practice and service requirements, the course will mock real-world situations that are crucial to being a civically engaged citizen to build student interest and make it easy for students to apply the knowledge to their lives after graduation.

A research report, Beyond the Ballot: The State of Civic Education in Kentucky, conducted by KSVT’s research team concluded that, based on its findings, school-based civic learning experiences should equip students to become civic participants within their schools, communities, and broader world. 

A U.S. History test cannot do that for Kentucky’s youth. We have to be providing more. Critical thinking and its applications to real-world scenarios is of the utmost importance to helping the future generation of our country succeed. 

Header graphic by Lucinda Ayres

This piece is part of Beyond the Ballot: Student stories of civic engagement, a collaborative journalistic package by KSVT’s storytelling team. This series aims to tell the complex stories of how students in our Commonwealth are engaging with civics inside and outside of the classroom.