McCormick Foundation Civics Program

UC Davis is paying $1 million in damages to students and alumni who were pepper sprayed by campus police during a peaceful protest

Nearly $1-million UC pepper spray settlement coming from reserves A nearly $1 million settlement that the University of California has agreed to dole out in a pepper-spraying incident at UC Davis will be paid through the system's self-insurance program, officials said.

Get ready for Banned Books Week! Banned Books week is next week Sept. 30-Oct. 6. Check out the American Library Association Website for ideas, resources, events and how you can participate in the Virtual Read Out.

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Freedom to Read | American Library Associ Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, tea...

Listen to ICMC Chair Shawn Healy's interview with WDCB on the crisis in civic education and the Democracy Schools program

Coalition Promotes ... Recognizes Civic Education Monday marks the 225th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. Teachers often use Constitution Day to introduce the subject to their stude...

Congratulations to the six high schools who have been recognized as Democracy Schools by the Illinois Civic Mission Coalition! To find out more about the Democracy Schools program, visit the McCormick Foundation Website.

‘Democracy Schools’ named Six area high schools have been named Democracy Schools by the Illinois Civic Mission Coalition for providing "high-quality civic learning opportunities" for students.

The Newseum has a new online resource for teaching the presidential campaign and election.

Multimedia Tool: Teaching the Presidential Campaign Education Week Teacher's take on the latest news, ideas, and resources for teacher leaders. Coverage runs the gamut from the inspirational to the infuriating, from practical classroom tips to raging policy debates, and from "news you can use" to "news of the weird".

What’s the most important issue the president should consider in 2013? C-Span's Student Cam 2013 mini documentary contest asks middle and high school students to submit their responses on this theme. Check it out here

C-SPAN StudentCam 2013 StudentCam is C-SPAN's annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think seriously about issues that affect our communities and our nation. This year students are asked to create a short (5-8 minute) video documentary on a topic related to the competition theme listed b...

The Constitutional Rights Foundation has resources for teaching the presidential elections. Check them out here

Election Central - Constitutional Rights Foundation ELECTION CENTRAL

How Would the Presidential Campaigns Change if the Voting Age Were 13? The New York Times Learning Network wants to hear from students. Those who submit responses could be featured on their Website.

How Would the Presidential Campaigns Change if the Voting Age Were 13? Answer this question by Sept. 21 and you'll be entered to win a contest to have your thoughts featured on The Learning Network and elsewhere on NYTimes.com.

Colonial Williamsburg is offering free access to "The Will of the People" Electronic Field Trip series for the month of September. The series on the presidential election of 1800 includes videos, games and lesson plans. It illustrates to students how "negative campaigning, partisan politics, and contested elections have been a part of our political system since the earliest days of the republic."

Gift to the Nation | Colonial Williamsburg's Gift to the Nation One of the most bitter presidential campaigns in U. S. history is part of a surprising lesson for a 21st-century student. Thomas Jefferson explains how negative campaigning, partisan politics, and contested elections have been part of our political system since the earliest days of the republic. Rea...

Who coined the name "United States of America"?

Who coined the name 'United States of America'? Mystery gets new twist. Historians continue to debate who came up with the formulation 'United States of America' as the name for the new nation. A new discovery could shift the discussion.

: A Campaign To Dispel Myths About Young Voters in the 2012 Election

The League of Young Voters Education Fund » Blog Archive » Introducing #YouthTruth: A Campaign To Last week, LYVEF’s friends at the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) launched YouthTruth, a new 2012 campaign initiative focused on dispelling myths about young voters and shattering stereotypes of a potentially decisive voting bloc this November.

"When government talks about punishing a speaker for speaking, it’s called 'viewpoint discrimination,' which the First Amendment forbids." -Gene Policinski, First Amendment Center. Check out Gene's Op-ed on the Chick-fil-A controversy.

Cities should keep hands off Chick-fil-A | First Amendment Center – news, commentary, analysis on f Using government power to try to punish or chill speech that some don't like is unacceptable under the First Amendment.