Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill into legislation on Aug. 21 adding a civics course to the list of requirements for high school graduation. Details regarding which students would be affected are not yet determined, but, according to sources, the requirement will most likely be implemented starting with the class of 2020.

According to the wording of the bill, the course must last at least one semester and must “focus on government institutions, the discussion of current and controversial issues, service learning, and simulations of the democratic process.”

As a part of the bill, individual schools are “free to determine how to incorporate civics education into their current curricula in a way that best meets the needs of their students.” The Oracle Editorial Board suggests that the Social Studies Department integrate Civics Education into Chicago Urban Studies, alongside making a stand-alone Civics class an option to take as a sophomore or senior year elective.

For students on an AP track, according to Cara Wiley, principal consultant for the State Board of Education and coordinator for Social Science, Math and English, the AP Government course fulfills the Civics requirement.

By allowing various options for students to fulfill the requirement, the Social Studies Department would meet the needs of different types of students in a way that gives them the schedule space to participate in other electives they may want to take.

The transfer to the block schedule last year was intended to allow students to take another class, thus giving them the liberty to choose electives that appeal to them. By adding another mandatory course for graduation, it limits students’ elective space, hindering schedule personalization. While it is evident that enrollment in other electives may decrease, implementation of the course this way will minimize these effects.

Terry Jozwik, Social Studies Department instructional supervisor, says that there is no possibility to incorporate the class into United States History courses because of state requirements. While it would be preferable that students have a background in U.S. History prior to learning about civics, it would be detrimental to enrollment in full-year senior history electives such as AP Psychology and AP World Civilizations if the course was only offered for seniors.

In terms of how to cover the class within the Urban Studies class, the Civics course can be taught by using current issues in Illinois and Chicago government to educate students on the legislative process, making the course more pertinent to our student body.

Students can also become involved in local government through a curriculum that involves service learning projects that will give them real-world experience in political issues. For students who are interested in an intermediate level Civics course, the Oracle Editorial Board believes the Social Studies Department should offer an honors option for the course, comparable to that of other honors-level sophomore electives.

Integrating the mandatory Civics requirement into a popular existing history elective allows for students that would have taken Urban Studies anyways to have more elective space in their schedule.

The mandatory Civics course does not have a state assessment. Unlike the Constitution test, Wiley believes that the main purpose of the Civics course is to get students more engaged in political policy rather than exam results.

“As of the way the public law reads now, we do not have an assessment tied to this,” Wiley said. “The civics requirement is [meant to get] kids out into public forums, understanding the political nature of things, and helping you to become better prepared citizens. It isn’t so much about assessment as it is about service learning.”

Reinforcing Wiley’s idea of mainly focusing on the content rather than evaluation, the Oracle Editorial Board believes that the course would be better off integrated into Urban Studies for those who aren’t as inclined to take up Civics.

Jozwik, similarly, believes that the civics requirement will provide a valuable opportunity for students to become more informed citizens and should be a topic that students enjoy learning about.

“When I read the newspapers about the state of government in Illinois and some of the concerns we have in the state of Illinois, [I realize] we do need students to somehow be more engaged and more excited and more involved in democratic processes,” Jozwik said.

We value the wisdom of the Social Studies Department staff and respect the decisions they will ultimately make when dealing with the course, but we want to speak to the benefit of the student body, since we are the ones who will be directly affected by the implementation of the course.

Civics Education is important to teach students so that they can make a difference in and around their community. However, students shouldn’t be limited in their opportunities by yet another state mandated course. By offering several alternatives, students may view it as less of a burden, allowing it to serve its original purpose: encouraging younger generations to spearhead political change.