About Principle
Practical civics for people who live in the news cycle.
Principle helps people understand what is happening, who is making the decisions, and what they can do next.
How access narrowed
1872
Reconstruction did not simply fade. Congress dismantled the Freedmen's Bureau under white Southern pressure. The bureau had educated 150,000 formerly enslaved people and helped charter more than 1,000 schools. As federal backing fell away, violence against Black schools rose with it. Sources and citations: 1. National Park Service. "The Rise and Fall of the Freedmen's Bureau." nps.gov. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-freedmen-s-bureau.htm
1896
Plessy v. Ferguson made "separate but equal" the law of the land. Courts extended that logic to schools within years. Across much of the South, Black schools were then kept underfunded by law, not by accident. Sources and citations: 1. Oyez. "Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)." oyez.org. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1850-1900/163us537
1954
Brown v. Board of Education said segregated schools were unconstitutional. But Congress did not pass meaningful enforcement until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a decade later. White flight then pulled money and resources out of many city school systems anyway. Sources and citations: 1. Oyez. "Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)." oyez.org. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483
1970s
The old expectation that students would spend real time learning civics began to erode. Problems of Democracy, once taken by 41% of high school students at its 1940s peak, fell below 9% enrollment and was quietly pushed out of most curricula. Sources and citations: 1. CIRCLE, "State Laws, Standards, and Requirements for K-12 Civics." Tufts University, 2012. https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/state-laws-standards-and-requirements-k-12-civics
2001
No Child Left Behind tied federal pressure to math and reading scores. Civics was left out of that structure, so schools had less reason to protect time for it when schedules tightened. Sources and citations: 1. Sandra Day O'Connor Institute, "When and Why Did America Stop Teaching Civics?" September 2024. https://oconnorinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/When-and-Why-Did-America-Stop-Teaching-Civics_.pdf
2001–07
Once those incentives changed, social studies was one of the first things cut. Thirty-six percent of school districts reduced it, by an average of 76 minutes per week. Sources and citations: 1. Jennifer McMurrer. "Choices, Changes, and Challenges: Curriculum and Instruction in the NCLB Era." Center on Education Policy, February 2007. https://schoolinfosystem.org/2007/02/20/curriculum-and-instruction-in-the-nclb-era/
2012
Congress eliminated dedicated federal history and civics grants in FY2012. The Teaching American History program, which had once reached $120 million a year, was cut to zero. Sources and citations: 1. American Historical Association, "Congress Restores Funding for K-12 History Education." January 2016. https://www.historians.org/perspectives-article/from-the-national-coalition-for-history-congress-restores-funding-for-k-12-history-education-january-2016/
2013
By 2013, third graders were spending 9.9 hours a week on English, 5.8 on math, and 2.8 on social studies. That was just 8.6% of the instructional week, the smallest share of any core subject. Sources and citations: 1. NCES. "Instructional Time in Elementary Schools: A Closer Look at Changes for Specific Subjects." nces.ed.gov. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/publications/2008084/
2022
NAEP recorded its first civics score decline since 1998. Only 22% of eighth graders reached proficiency. Another 31% scored below Basic, which means many students are leaving school without a working grasp of how the government is structured. Sources and citations: 1. NAEP. "Civics Highlights 2022." nationsreportcard.gov. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/civics/highlights/
2023
Federal civics funding tripled to $23 million in 2023, but that still worked out to less than five cents per student. A much larger proposal, the Civics Secures Democracy Act, died in Congress without a vote. Sources and citations: 1. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. "Update on Federal and State Investments in Civics Education." amacad.org. https://www.amacad.org/civics
2025
In 2025, President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. About half the department's staff was cut, including 7 of its 12 regional Civil Rights offices. At the same time, $900 million in education research contracts were revoked, shutting down long-term studies and the What Works Clearinghouse. Sources and citations: 1. Diane Ravitch. "DOGE Terminates $900 Million in Contracts at Ed Dept's Research and Data Unit." dianeravitch.net, February 2025. https://dianeravitch.net/2025/02/11/doge-terminates-900-million-in-contracts-at-ed-depts-research-and-data-unit/
2025
NAEP is scheduled to assess civics nationally in 2026, and then not again until 2030. That four-year gap means much of the damage or fallout from current federal changes may not be measurable until the end of the decade. Sources and citations: 1. National Assessment Governing Board. "Assessment Schedule." nagb.gov. https://www.nagb.gov/naep/assessment-schedule.html
2026
Principle starts with a narrow purpose: help people see where power sits, what choices are being made around them, and what they can do next.
Most Americans can't explain how the system works
This is what the gap looks like in practice: people are expected to live under a system they were never really taught to read.
📊70% of registered voters fail a basic civics quiz
In a 2024 survey of 2,000 registered voters, more than 70% failed a basic civics quiz and only half correctly identified the branch of government where bills become law. Sources and citations: 1. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. "New Study Finds Alarming Lack of Civic Literacy Among Americans." February 12, 2024. National survey of 2,000 registered voters fielded Oct. 25–Nov. 1, 2023. https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/civics/new-study-finds-alarming-lack-of-civic-literacy-among-americans
📉Only 22% of 8th graders reach civics proficiency
In the 2022 NAEP civics assessment, only 22% of U.S. eighth-graders scored at or above Proficient. 31% scored below Basic. Average scores fell from 2018 — the first decline on record. Sources and citations: 1. National Center for Education Statistics. "2022 NAEP Civics Assessment: Highlighted Results at Grade 8 for the Nation." NCES 2023012, May 2023. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/civics/
📚40% of 8th graders score below basic in U.S. history
In the 2022 NAEP U.S. history assessment, 40% of eighth graders scored below NAEP Basic and only 13% reached proficiency. Sources and citations: 1. National Center for Education Statistics. "2022 NAEP U.S. History Assessment: Highlighted Results at Grade 8 for the Nation." NCES 2023051, May 2023. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ushistory/
📋Only 4 states require both a civics course and a civics test
As of a 2024 state scan, most students can still graduate without sustained instruction in how laws, courts, and representation work — and without any standard civics assessment. Sources and citations: 1. Sophia Craiutu and Jed Ngalande. "State Civics Requirements in 2024." Hoover Institution, December 17, 2024. https://www.hoover.org/research/state-civics-requirements-2024
When people understand power, they act differently
Civic learning matters when it helps people name what's happening around them, connect it to real decisions, and act with other people. The evidence here points in the same direction: practical civic knowledge changes behavior.
🗳️10–12 points more likely to campaign, march, or advocate
Youth who remembered voting instruction or encouragement in high school were at least 10 percentage points more likely to have volunteered on or donated to a political campaign, and at least 12 points more likely to have marched, led, or advocated for policy change. Sources and citations: 1. CIRCLE (Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement). "Youth Who Learned about Voting in High School More Likely to Become Informed and Engaged Voters." Tufts University, 2020. https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/youth-who-learned-about-voting-high-school-more-likely-become-informed-and-engaged
📈7 points higher voting rates for students taught about voting
Youth who received both encouragement and instruction on voting in high school voted at rates 7 percentage points higher in the 2016 and 2018 elections than youth who received neither. Sources and citations: 1. CIRCLE (Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement). "Youth Who Learned about Voting in High School More Likely to Become Informed and Engaged Voters." Tufts University, 2020. https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/youth-who-learned-about-voting-high-school-more-likely-become-informed-and-engaged
🎓81% of students with civic voice experiences said they were extremely likely to vote
CIRCLE found that 81% of youth who strongly recalled student voice experiences in high school said they were extremely likely to vote in 2024, versus 44% among youth who strongly disagreed. Sources and citations: 1. CIRCLE (Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement). "Youth Who Develop their Voice in High School Are More Likely to Vote." Tufts University, 2024. https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/youth-who-develop-their-voice-high-school-are-more-likely-vote
🤝44–76% more civic knowledge from project-based learning
Project-based civic programs — where students work on real policy problems rather than memorizing facts — can substantially increase civic knowledge, expression, and problem-solving skills. Sources and citations: 1. Diana Owen. Project Citizen Research Program Final Report. Civic Education Research Lab, Georgetown University / Center for Civic Education, 2024. https://civiced.org/research-impact-april-2024
Where we fit
Principle is citizen-led and research-grounded. We trace laws, courts, data, reporting, and lived experience into civic understanding ordinary people can actually use.
Academics, educators & researchers
Preserve the records, evidence, and frameworks that make public decisions legible beyond the daily headline.
Local communities & organizers
Know what policy becomes after it lands: who carries the cost, who gets protected, and what the official story leaves out.
Media & independent journalism
Follow the story when it's inconvenient, trace the money, and name who is making the call.
Principle
Does the synthesis: verifies sources, connects history to institutions, and turns complexity into usable civic knowledge.
A note from Tán
My family came to America as refugees — no savings, no connections, no one to explain how anything worked. My mom worked two jobs. While she was gone, Vietnamese elders in our community stepped in — people with no obligation to us, who watched me, fed me, corrected me, and made sure I was never alone in a country we were all still figuring out together. I did manual labor and ran errands to carry my weight. That was the shape of my childhood: people holding each other up, getting by on almost…
Get involved
Help us keep building this.
Principle exists because too many people are expected to navigate systems they were never taught to understand. We're building it in public. If it helps, share it. If something is off, tell us. If you want more people to have access to it, help us keep it going.