Introducing the Educating for Democracy Act of 2020
Introducing the Educating for Democracy Act of 2020
Introducing the Educating for Democracy Act of 2020
On September 17, 2020, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Chair of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK), Ranking Member of that Subcommittee, introduced a bipartisan bill, the Educating for Democracy Act of 2020-2021, which would authorize $1 billion in federal-level investments in civic and history education.
This legislation would represent a massive investment in civic and history education nationwide. It would support new competitive grant programs for state and local education agencies, non-profit organizations, and higher education institutions to develop and expand curriculum, instructional resources, research, professional learning, teacher preparation in civic and history education. It would also require that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in civics and U.S. history be conducted every two years for students in grades 4, 8 and 12, with state-level results made publicly available.
As a proud member of the CivXNow Coalition, National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has endorsed this bill. NCSS is asking for your collective support and advocacy with your elected officials. Please request your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor this bill, to signal their support for this vital and urgently needed investment in our students and our schools. Representatives DeLauro and Cole introduced this bill on Constitution Day to build support for civic and history education and to secure additional co-sponsors, and the CivXNow Coalition anticipates that this legislation will be re-introduced when the new Congress is convened in January. Now is the time to build a strong support base for this legislation!
The CivXNow Coalition has offered guidance to help you contact your U.S. Representative and ask them to co-sponsor this bill.
- Use a template script to assist in your outreach.
- Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your House member. Once connected to their office, ask to speak to whomever handles education issues for the Congressperson (you may have to leave a voicemail). Ask that staffer to ask the Member to co-sponsor the ‘Educating for Democracy Act,’ introduced by Representatives DeLauro and Cole, that would dramatically improve civic and history education. Offer to send the staff member the bill summary.
- Email or write to your U.S. Representative by visiting www.house.gov, and entering your zip code in the box in the upper right hand corner. From there, you can go to the member’s website, where you will find their mailing address, phone number, and a feature for constituents to make requests or send comments to the House member. Please send all communications to their Washington, DC office, not to their district offices.
- If mailing, emailing, or faxing, please include the bill summary. If phoning, ask the staff member you speak to for their email address, and send them the bill summary along with a thank you for taking your call.
Please note: We are not asked to contact U.S. Senators about the legislation at this time.
