Kentucky students have organized a series of public hearings to discuss the importance of civics education. The Kentucky Student Voice Team released a report showing that many Kentucky students are not adequately prepared to engage in democracy after high school.
The report shows they are not having classes about government processes and are not getting real-world experience.
Ivy Litton is a senior at Rowan County High School and is the policy coordinator for the Kentucky Student Voice Team. She said too many students are going out into the world without knowing how government works.
“We wanted to bring attention to this issue from a student perspective. To not just identify those ways that schools are failing students, but also to really highlight schools and communities that are getting that right and are being successful so we can compile that information and use it to make real, actionable steps that can facilitate change.”
Litton said Civics, which is defined as the rights and duties of citizenship, is not being taught in Kentucky schools.
“A major issue here is that Kentucky is one of 11 states in the country that do not require a civics course at all. In my experience, we did have to take a civics exam, that was required but most of the time they're giving students the answers or they're not teaching them the content prior to that exam.”
In January, the Kentucky Student Voice Team filed a lawsuit in Franklin County, saying the Kentucky government failed to meet its constitutional obligation to provide an adequate education for all.
The first public hearing will take place on April 5th at the Carnegie Center in Lexington.
Hear more from Ivy Litton later this week on Eastern Standard on WEKU.
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