RI outlines steps to strengthen civics education in response to lawsuit

PROVIDENCE — The commissioner of education has agreed to create a civics task force as part of an agreement to end a federal lawsuit brought by students across the state.

The federal lawsuit, filed by 14 students nearly four years ago, argued that the state had violated their rights under the U.S. Constitution by failing to provide them with an adequate civics education.

Although the suit was ultimately unsuccessful in federal court, the plaintiffs achieved similar results by working with the state Department of Education.

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On a separate front, Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said she supports a bill that would ask voters to make fair and equitable education a constitutional right in Rhode Island.

“I hope that it will pass,” she said. “We should have a legal right to an equal education. It’s what this nation was built on.”

Civics readiness task force

At a news conference Wednesday, Infante-Green announced the creation of a civics readiness task force that will study whether to add a half-credit course in civics in grades eight and high school, encourage students to have respectful conversations on difficult topics, provide instruction on voter registration, and add a seal of civics readiness to the high-school diploma.

“I did this work in New York,” Infante-Green said. “We needed to do this work in Rhode Island, and we started last year. I came into this lawsuit knowing it’s all about doing the work.”

She said she hopes Rhode Island will become a model for civics education in the United States.

The task force will also make sure that “civic readiness” includes civics skills, media literacy and student-led projects for middle- or high-school students. The student project was approved by the General Assembly last year.

'Our goals were shared throughout'

Although both parties disagreed on the constitutional issues raised by the lawsuit, they never differed on the value of offering a rich civics education to all students.

Shortly before Infante-Green became commissioner, she called one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers and said, “Let’s sit down,” but the lawyer, Michael Rebell, said, “Not yet.”

“We were having a very respectful dialogue throughout the course of the past four years,” said Rebell, a professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College. “We had a legal dispute over what was provided by the Constitution, but our goals were shared throughout.

More: Federal court denies RI students' appeal claiming constitutional right to civics education

“We live in a polarized society where it’s almost impossible to get anything done in Washington,” he said. “Our hope is with the next generation. These kids can make a difference.”

Some of the goals of the task force, like teaching schools how to grapple with controversial issues, are cutting-edge, according to Rebell.

Jennifer Wood, executive director of the Rhode Island Center for Justice, called the agreement one of the most satisfying in her career because it will lead to systemic change in the way civics is taught.

“There are 14 families who, despite the fact they came from immigrant backgrounds, said 'I’m going to lend my name to publicly filed documents in federal court,'” she said. “This was a courageous act. Most of them have graduated from high school. To a person, this case has changed their lives.”

Symone Burrell, a graduate of Times² Academy, a Providence charter school, said the experience has led her to major in leadership and social change in college.  

“Just thinking about high school, I didn’t have a civics class,” she said. “We learned about the three branches of government, but our civics education wasn’t up to par. It goes beyond knowing what’s happening at the national level. It’s about what’s happening at the local level. It’s about the changes you can make to have a better community.”

Niamiah Jefferson graduated from Ponaganset High School and now attends Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Sitting in U.S. District Court Judge William Smith’s courtroom was a civics lesson in itself, one that will stay with her for a lifetime.

“Just being able to sit there and hear the different perspectives was important to me, seeing how it unfolded,” she said. “I understood the importance of speaking up, and that change can happen no matter how long it takes.”

As a result of this agreement, the students decided not to appeal the dismissal of their suit by the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Linda Borg covers education for the Journal.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI civics education lawsuit: Details of settlement announced