Civic education is essential to preserving constitutional government. This has been recognized since the founding of our nation. Thomas Jefferson tells us, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” James Madison warns us that, “Popular government without education is the prologue to a farce or a tragedy.” Competent and conscientious citizens who exercise their rights and fulfill their responsibilities are the result of sound programs in education for citizenship. That is why schools not only have a civic mission; it is why their civic mission is their foremost responsibility.

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