To strengthen Kansas schools and their students, we can start with civics in the home

An election worker hands out “I Voted” stickers. Our columnist writes that parents and community members can strengthen civics education outside schools. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

When I return home for the Kansas Book Festival in Topeka, I will do what I have done at talks across the country: brag on Kansas. I will be there to talk about “How to Raise a Citizen (and Why It’s Up to You to Do It)” alongside state Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Rosen and Mr. Beat, the Kansas educator and YouTuber who has taught millions of people history online.

I grew up in Overland Park at a time when Kansas took public education seriously. Our schools were a public promise. They assured parents their children were being prepared for adulthood, and they brightened the future for those of us who passed through them.

But bragging on how great Kansas was does not mean pretending that everything is fine today.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (also known as the Nation’s Report Card) gives Kansans reason to pay attention. In 2024, Kansas eighth graders scored about even with the national average in reading and math. Average is no disaster. But in reading, Kansas’ 2024 eighth-grade score was lower than it was in 1998. In math, the 2024 eighth-grade score was lower than it was in 2000.

That troubles me, not because Kansas is in some sort of educational free fall but because I want Kansas back on an upward trajectory. For that to happen, we need a frank acknowledgment of where the state is and an openness to ideas for making things better. Civics can play a role in that comeback.

Reading and math are not separate from preparing for citizenship. A person who cannot read carefully will struggle to follow a ballot measure, evaluate a campaign claim or understand what a school board decides. A person who cannot reason with numbers will have a more difficult time assessing tax plans, budgets, bond issues or tradeoffs built into public policy.

Civics and social studies, when done well, help students practice reading, writing, reasoning, discussion, problem-solving and even quantitative thinking in real-world contexts. They are not “distractions” from core academics. Rather, they are where the applications of these sorts of skills are put to good use.

A 2020 Fordham Institute analysis of federal Early Childhood Longitudinal Study data found that increased instructional time in social studies was associated with improved reading ability, with especially strong benefits for students from lower-income and non-English-speaking homes. If Kansas can come together around more and better civics and social studies instruction, we might improve achievement in other subjects while also preparing young people to step into self-government once they turn 18.

Civic education is essential to a free, functioning democracy. Kansas has understood that for a long time. The state has required instruction in government, U.S. history, patriotism, the duties of citizenship and the U.S. Constitution for more than a century; the roots of the current statutory requirement trace back to 1919.

This spring, Kansas lawmakers and Gov. Laura Kelly disagreed over House Bill 2412, which, along with other curriculum changes, would have required students to pass an American civics exam to graduate. Kansans can, and should, debate whether that bill was the right tool, who should design curriculum and how much should be decided in Topeka versus by state and local school boards.

Underneath that disagreement should be a point of consensus: We must do more to raise educational attainment and prepare young Kansans for citizenship. More time with civic content can help students become familiar with important concepts, institutions and responsibilities while improving overall assessment scores.

I have hope for Kansas civic education policy. But while adults debate statutes, standards and assessments, the work of raising citizens cannot pause.

An agreement on what should be taught in school can be difficult to achieve. In writing my book, I concluded that in some places, consensus may be too distant a goal to wait for. But there is something we can do immediately: Change our home and community culture so civic life is discussed more openly, regularly and constructively.

We are in a midterm election year, and Kansas voters will see races for U.S. Senate, governor, Congress and many state and local offices. That is a gift for parents, teachers, librarians and neighbors who want to jump-start this work with children. Pick one race. Look up what the office does. Find out who represents you now. Read a campaign website. Pull up a sample ballot. Ask a young person what issues they notice and which level of government might address them.

Our kids do not need us to be government trivia experts. They need us to model how to be engaged and how to learn what we do not already know.

As America marches into its 250th year, Kansas should help rebalance the country’s civic life, too. That means investing in strong schools, modernizing civic learning, supporting teachers, expanding rigorous coursework and making sure every young Kansan knows how to register, find a ballot, identify representatives, evaluate sources and participate in local government.

While schools continue the hard work of figuring out their part, Kansas families can start now: by talking with children about civic life at home in ways that build not only stronger citizens, but stronger readers, thinkers and learners.

Lindsey Cormack is an associate professor of political science at Stevens Institute of Technology, a JMC Scholar, author of “How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It)”, and host of “Government that Doesn’t Suck.” Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.