From what I am hearing, the budget deal negotiated by Congress and the President had the following effects on civic education:<\/p>\n
Learn & Serve America, the program within the Corporation for National and Community Service that funds “service-learning” in k-12 schools, colleges and universities, nonprofits, and Native American communities, was eliminated completely–after 21 years of work.<\/p>\n
The Center for Civic Education, a national nonprofit whose primary source of funds for decades has been the United States Department of Education, was allocated no money. I think the entire civic education portfolio in the Department was zeroed out.<\/p>\n
The Teaching American History grant program (which mainly supports educational opportunities for teachers of k-12 history) was cut by about 36 percent.<\/p>\n
I have been critical of the way some of these funds were used in the past; improvements are possible. But for the national government to invest nothing in the civic education of young people is unacceptable.<\/p>\n