Governor Ron DeSantis recently released the results of Florida’s 2022 civics assessments, demonstrating the success of Florida’s approach to educating its students on the history of our country, the exceptional nature of our form of government, and the role they play as citizens of our republic. He also announced that the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative will expand to all school districts for the upcoming school year, and announced that 2,500 teachers will complete three-day civics professional development trainings by the end of July.

“A strong civics education is foundational to the American experience,” said Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. “Today’s scores highlight the improvements our students have made in becoming more informed and involved citizens.”

Across the board, Florida’s students’ civic literacy has improved year over year. Overall, the percentage of students scoring Level 3 and above improved in social studies from 2021 to 2022.

Statewide, nearly three quarters of students scored at or above Level 3 in Civics in 2022, an increase of five percentage points from 2021.

U.S. History end of course (EOC) assessment performance increased by two percentage points.

From 2021 to 2022, all student subgroups increased or maintained performance at Level 3 and above in social studies, while African American students had the largest increases in both social studies and science performance.

This upcoming school year there will be $1 million dedicated to the expansion of the Florida Civics & Debate Initiative. This is double last year’s funding and will enable the program to expand from 45 participating school districts at the start of 2021 to 60 school districts in 2022. By the end of this coming school year, every school district in the state should be participating in the Civics & Debate Initiative. And this November 2022 Florida will host its second National Civics and Debate Championship. Prior to the launch of this initiative, only 11 school districts offered students opportunities to participate in Speech and Debate.

Over the next month, the Florida Department of Education will be hosting 10 three day civics trainings for teachers. Teachers who participate in these civics bootcamps will be awarded the Civics Seal of Excellence and will receive a
$3,000 bonus. For more information about these training programs, click here.