CIVIC ED. IN THE NEWS

Legal battles continue in Texas, as both federal courts and the Texas Supreme Court face cases about the status of vote-by-mail given the current pandemic. States like Missouri have also pushed back on efforts led by voting-rights advocates seeking to ensure that all voters have access to mail-in ballots, but others, including Michigan and West Virginia, have sent absentee ballot applications to all registered voters to encourage them to vote safely at home. Learn more about voting by mail here.

The Indiana Bar Foundation and Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch of Indiana held the first Civic Education Task Force meeting this past April. The Task Force seeks to educate residents on how to grow more involved in areas of politics which interest them, among other things. According to the 2019 Indiana Civic Health Index, the state currently ranks at 10th in the nation on civic engagement.

In Taiwan, leaders are seeking to restore historical fact in schools, as the country’s Transitional Justice Commission just approved the inclusion of historical state sanctioned violence in national civic education curricula. Elementary and middle school students will now be taught how the government suppressed political dissidents during the Era of White Terror.

Finally, in Hawaii, local judges are spearheading a program to engage elementary-aged students in civic education while away due to COVID-19. With the help of Reading & Robes, these women have begun reading to children in the hopes of inspiring confidence.

MAY 2020

Welcome to the May edition of our civic education newsletter! As COVID-19 continues to change our planet, tune into this month’s announcements.

The Austin Youth Bill of Rights Survey is now seeking local youth and parents/guardians of young people in the Austin area to give their opinion on what issues are affecting them most.
The Beat the Odds Youth Forum, hosted by the Children’s Defense Fund-Texas, is this Thursday, May 28th from 7 PM to 8 PM. The Zoom webinar will connect young Texans with civic engagement opportunities, so make sure to register and attend!
The Texas Civil Rights Project is conducting a survey on the public’s knowledge of Texas’s high school voter registration law. Fill it out here.
#OurOwnVote has created an excellent resource bank on how to keep high school students registering to vote, including CDF-TX’s DIY Democracy: COVID-19 edition.
Want to see your announcement in next month’s newsletter? Contact Maggie Stern at mstern@childrensdefense.org. Subscribe or unsubscribe from our mailing list here.

Leading Through A Crisis

As we did in our last month’s newsletter, this month we continue to highlight young people across the world who are doing well beyond their part to cultivate hope and solidarity.

A U S T I N, T X

University Leadership Initiative, the undocumented-student group based at the University of Texas at Austin, has been independently fundraising money to give back to other undocumented students, families, and community members. ULI has been able to raise thousands of dollars so far, and continues to accept donations. Find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

N A T I O N A L S O L I D A R I T Y

The National Intercollegiate COVID-19 Coalition (NICC) is a nationwide group of individuals dedicated to advocating on behalf of university students during these unprecedented times. With chapters all over the country, this group is constantly providing resources online, ranging from infographics to food banks.

M E X I C A N I N N O V A T I O N

In Hermosilla, Sonora, Mexico, a group of college scientists, engineers and activists have begun developing respirators for underfunded parts of Mexico! Check them and their work out here!