The authors provide a comprehensive list of state requirements for civics education as of 2024.
Which states in 2024 require their high school students to study civics? Is it possible that some do not? In those that do, what is required: a semester, full-year civics course, or more? What states insist that their students show evidence of having learned something about civics by passing a test in the subject? And what sort of test?
Key Takeaways
- Only 8 states—Alaska, Delaware, Kansas, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wyoming—require neither a civics course nor a civics test for students to receive a high school diploma.
- Four states—Idaho, Louisiana, Virginia, and West Virginia—require a full-year civics course and the passing of a standard civics test.
- Sixteen states require a half-year civics course and the passing of a standard civics test.
- Sixteen states and the District of Columbia require a half-year or full-year course but no test requirement.
- Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have no course requirement but require students to take a civics assessment—although Pennsylvania does not require students to pass.