Sixty years ago, Congress designated May 1 as the official date for Law Day, an annual celebration of the rule of law and a chance to learn together how our legal process works. Over the past six decades, numerous education and civic organizations have led programs and shared resources for students, educators, and the general public to participate in learning about how our government and legal process functions, and has evolved over the past centuries. Law and law-related education are important social studies disciplines to NCSS every day of the year, and we are excited to highlight the rule of law on this dedicated day. By including the study of law in our education programs, we build on every child’s foundation in social studies education. Our current nationwide conversation is already strongly focused on the importance of civics education – and by extension the vital role of government, law-related education, political science, and related disciplines which together help us understand the theory, research, art, science, and overall structure to our legal system and ways in which we govern, and are governed. 

As you prepare to celebrate and educate this Law Day, I wanted to share updates on some big news for social studies in Congress, and opportunities to engage and participate in our legislative priorities and partnerships this year.

At its recent winter meeting, the NCSS Board of Directors approved 2021 legislative priorities, many of which already have deep and wide support by nationwide coalitions, organizations, and leaders.

Priority # 1: Civics Secures Democracy Act (H.R. 1814 / S.879)

This bill represents a proposed $1 Billion investment in civics and history education for five years, supporting schools, regional and state education agencies, nonprofit organizations, and higher education institutions through competitive grant funds. It was recently introduced in the U.S. House by by Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Rep. Earl Blumenauer [D-OR], and in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). Our partners at the CivXNow Coalition (of which NCSS is a member) summarized this bill’s provisions and included fact sheets which can be used in advocacy. NCSS joins many other organizations in supporting this legislation.

Take Informed Action! 
Contact your local Congressional leader and ask them to co-sponsor this bill. The more co-sponsors this bill has, the greater chance it has to be voted on and become the massive investment in civics and history education we need now.

Priority # 2: American History and Civics Academies

These programs, currently funded by the U.S. Department of Education, offer teachers (through President Academies) and students (through Congressional Academies) the chance to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of American history, civics, and government. The Academies are currently funded at $2 Million (with an additional $3.25 Million in funding for an American History and Civics grants program). 

Take Informed Action! 
Public comment is now sought on two new proposed priorities for the Academies program: “Projects that Incorporate Racially, Ethnically, Culturally, and Linguistically Diverse Perspectives into Teaching and Learning” and “Promoting Information Literacy Skills.” Please see this announcement in the Federal Register and submit your comment by May 19, 2021.

Priority # 3: Service-Learning Fund

Building from Inspired to Serve: The Final Report of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service (released in March 2020), NCSS has joined the Coalition for Service-Learning in its call for a new $250 Million Service-Learning Fund, and the continued funding of service-learning as currently authorized by the bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

Take Informed Action! 
While the initial deadline has just passed to request your Congressional representatives to sign on to co-sponsor the new Service-Learning Fund bill, we encourage you to get to know the Coalition for Service-Learning and follow its action alerts. We will keep you informed of progress in this important proposed legislation, as well. 

Priority # 4: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Support (SSAE) Grant Program 

Through a flexible block grant program authorized under Title IV, Part A (funded at $1.6 Billion through FY21), the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) allows funding for a well-rounded education to include the social studies; supporting safe and healthy schools; and supporting the effective use of technology through sustained professional development, learning technology programs, and access to technology devices.

Take Informed Action!
NCSS recently joined the Title IV-A Coalition, which brings together many national education organizations working to ensure full funding and implementation of the SSAE Grant Program. The Title IV-A Coalition is an alliance of national organizations working together to advocate for full funding and the successful implementation of SSAE grants under Title IV-A of ESSA. For many years, we have pushed for social studies to be viewed as the foundation of a well-rounded education, and believe this grant program can be used to support social studies education in achieving the grant’s goals of programs that foster safe and healthy students, provide students with a well-rounded education, and increase the effective use of technology in our nation’s schools. 

Priority # 5: E-Rate Funding to Support Remote Learning and Equity of Access

The American Rescue Plan of 2021 includes $7.172 Billion in “homework gap” funding to support remote learning and equity of access to learning technology and devices. NCSS is part of an informal coalition of education organizations led by the National Education Association (NEA) which has successfully pushed for this funding to bridge the “digital divide” and increase support for learning technology support, especially for those students most affected by the switch to remote learning and the continued COVID-19 pandemic.

Take Informed Action! 
Learn more about The American Rescue Plan of 2021 and the funds available to your school and community to support equitable access to instruction, and the safe and healthy return to schools.

Coming Soon: The Promoting Programming, Research, Education and Preservation in (PREP) Civics and Government Act

NCSS, along with 13 other organizations, supports proposed legislation to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) and Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) that would “explicitly make the study of civics and government a responsibility of NEH [the National Endowment for the Humanities. This would formalize NEH’s role in advancing civic education and highlight the need for the agency to continue its work in programming, research, education and preservation in civics and government.” A “Dear Colleague” letter and the bill text highlighted this upcoming bill to be introduced.

Continued Legislative Advocacy

The following proposals are our additional issues for us to share with elected and education leaders. While there are no current bills proposed for these issues, we encourage you to discuss them in your state and local context and build support for them.

• Restore NAEP Assessments (National Assessments of Educational Progress) in all 4 social studies disciplines (Civics, Economics, Geography, and U.S. History) with state-level data, grades 4, 8 and 12. The good news: Civics and U.S. History are already included in the Civics Secures Democracy Act bill. NCSS also calls for the restoration of Economics and Geography assessments, as well. We will continue to build our relationship with the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) to address this important issue.
• Hire a staff content specialist in social studies education at the U.S. Department of Education. Similar to the role many state education agencies have to support social studies curriculum and assessment, a staff content specialist at the U.S. Department of Education could provide guidance, resources, and support to states and districts. Although the U.S. Department of Education does not promote or release any particular social studies standards, curriculum, or assessments, it could play a key communications role with organizations like NCSS and state and local education agencies to signal the importance of increased instructional time for social studies, and manage funded programs for civics, history, and related social studies disciplines.
• Support for use of Title II-A professional development funding to provide equity of access for social studies instruction. These funds are an important link in supporting the professional growth of our entire educator workforce. Clear and consistent messages that encourage these funds to be used in support of social studies educators will ensure that all students are prepared for civic life.

Who’s With Us?

NCSS is currently a member of nine formal and informal coalitions. Our legislative priorities come to life through valuable relationships built from shared goals and values for student achievement and educator support. I invite you to learn more about our coalition partners, their full advocacy efforts, and our collaboration to support social studies education as a foundation in many facets of daily learning, from civic engagement to service-learning to closing the homework gap. We deeply value each coalition partner and look forward to supporting strong and informed civic action together in the coming year to continue fulfilling our mission to provide leadership, service, and support to all educators. (Point of contact is in parentheses.)

1. CivXNow Coalition (iCivics)
2. Coalition for Service-Learning (National Youth Leadership Council)
3. Educating All Learners Alliance (National Center for Learning Disabilities)
4. “Homework Gap” Coalition (National Education Association)
5. National Coalition Against Censorship
6. National Coalition for History
7. National Media Literacy Education Alliance (National Association for Media Literacy Education)
8. Teaching for Democracy Alliance (CIRCLE, Tufts University)
9. The Purple Project for Democracy 

What You Can Do

In your state and community, continue to advocate for specific actions addressed in “The Marginalization of Social Studies” 2018 Infographic (released by the Council of Chief State School Officers):

• Dedicate at least 45 minutes of daily instructional time to social studies in grades K-5.
• Assess social studies skills and content. 
• Support social studies professional learning. 
• Use high-quality social studies curriculum and materials.

Bookmark our NCSS Advocacy webpage, which features our new Advocacy Toolkit, developed by the NCSS Advocacy Task Force and consisting of six modules to develop and shape your social studies advocacy plan.

And…register to attend our virtual Summer Leadership Institute, Think Global - Act Local, this July 12-13, 2021. This year’s Institute will showcase ways we can build strong connections between NCSS, state, regional, and local councils and community organizations who share similar visions to advocate for and promote the social studies profession. Register now.

As always, thank you for your continued advocacy and leadership in social studies. You make a difference every day!

Sincerely,

Lawrence M. Paska, Ph.D.
Executive Director