Rhode Island students sued for the right to civics lessons. Now they will ensure others benefit

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/20/2117036/-Rhode-Island-students-sued-for-the-right-to-civics-lessons-Now-they-will-ensure-others-benefit?detail=emaildkre&pm_source=DKRE&pm_medium=email

Rhode Island students sued for the right to civics lessons. Now they will ensure others benefit

This article was originally published at Prism.

On June 15, 2022, Rhode Island’s Department of Education reached an agreement with the plaintiffs of a class action lawsuit filed by parents and students claiming the state’s public schools had violated their constitutional rights by failing to adequately prepare students to be active and productive civic participants in society.

Cook v. McKee made its way through state courts and eventually to the First Circuit Court of Appeals over four years before being dismissed on the basis that civics education was not considered a constitutional right. The agreement will enable the 14 students named in the lawsuit, most of whom are now adults, to work with education officials in creating a task force that will help implement a civics curriculum throughout the state.

Up until the resolution, Rhode Island was one of 11 states that did not require any kind of civics education. At its core, civics education aims to teach citizens about their rights and responsibilities within government and society. In a classroom setting, students learn how governments function, which rights are awarded to individuals under the law, and how to participate in civic processes like sitting on a jury or voting for political candidates. Now, the student plaintiffs hope others will benefit from their efforts to renew interest in a crucial but long-neglected subject.

In 2018, 14 minors living in Rhode Island, most of them students of color or from immigrant backgrounds who attended the state’s public schools and ranging in age from 6 months to late teens, sued the state’s governor, education commissioner, and other state officials.

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