Louisiana officials want to recognize students who demonstrate a strong grasp of civics by honoring them with a special “Freedom Seal” on their diplomas.
Starting next year, high schoolers who achieve “mastery” or above on the state’s new civics test will be given a foil seal on their diplomas acknowledging their accomplishment. Those who receive the seal will also qualify for a red, white and blue honor cord to wear during their graduation ceremony.
The civics test launches next year and will replace the U.S. History LEAP test as a requirement for graduation.
State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said the aim is to incentivize more students to learn about U.S. history and become engaged in the political process.
“It is really important for us to elevate civics education in Louisiana,” Brumley said. “If a country doesn’t understand the civics that govern it, then it’s a national security risk.”
The special diploma is Brumley’s latest effort to promote social studies and civics education in Louisiana in ways that align with the state’s new K-12 social studies standards, known as the “Freedom Framework."
On Tuesday, a group of high schoolers from around the state representing Louisiana’s Legislative Youth Advisory Council, an organization that aims to foster a greater appreciation and understanding of civic participation among Louisiana students, testified in favor of the seal before the state school board.
They told members that recognizing achievement in civics education is crucial to increasing political awareness among young people and encouraging them to learn their rights in the democratic process.
“Civics isn’t just a subject in school, it’s a foundation of how we live, work and lead in our schools, communities and country,” said Lafayette High School junior Spencer Croft. Adopting the seal will send the message “that what students do outside the classroom is just as important as what they learn inside of it.”
Students take the exam the same year they take civics in high school, which is typically during their sophomore year, a department spokesman said. Categories on the test include the foundations of the United States government and how civil rights in the U.S. have developed over time; the role of the U.S. government in developing domestic, foreign and economic policies; and the national, state and local political processes and how citizens participate in those processes.
Beginning next school year, those who score mastery or above will receive the seal and honor cord to wear for graduation. Students who graduate next year but who took the test previously will also be eligible.
Brumley pointed out that only 22% of eighth graders in the U.S. performed at or above proficient on a national civics exam in 2022.
“We can improve that by making sure we have rigorous standards to teach civics in our classrooms,” he said Tuesday, adding that Louisiana “has done more in the last few years in regards to history and civics education” than any other state.
Since Brumley took on his role in 2020, Louisiana has introduced several changes to its social studies standards.
In 2022, the state adopted the “Freedom Framework” for social studies education, a revamped version of the standards that tell “the story of American exceptionalism as well as the nation’s continuous journey towards becoming a more perfect union,” a press release from the State Department of Education said.
High schoolers are taught that the failure of communist policy and the assertion of American principles led to the end of the Cold War, according to a pamphlet that outlines the standards. They also learn how individuals such as Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and Medgar Evans contributed to the expansion of American civil rights.
Most recently, the state board of education voted unanimously last month to align the state’s fourth and fifth-grade social studies standards with President Trump’s executive order requiring that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed to the Gulf of America.
Brinkley Bennett, a junior at St. Joseph’s Academy in Baton Rouge, said offering a special distinction to high schoolers who demonstrate a strong understanding of civics will help encourage “an entire generation of students” to participate in democracy.
“A healthy democracy depends on active involvement of its citizens, but that participation doesn’t happen on its own,” she said. “It’s something we have to learn.”