Act 35
In 2018, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Act 35, which requires that all school and education entities administer a locally developed assessment of U.S. history, government, and civics at least once to students during grades 7-12, beginning with the 2020-2021 school year. Schools need to adapt their curriculum to ensure they prepare students for this assessment.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education created a toolkit to support schools in implementing the Act 35 requirements, including curriculum planning and the reporting process. This toolkit provides the foundation and background to help educational institutions understand and comply with Act 35. Building on that foundation, PA Civics has curated helpful educational resources from our partners to ensure schools and teachers can not only meet the requirements of Act 35, but prepare their students to become engaged citizens.
Passing an exam is a helpful measurement, but a truly impactful civic education is about so much more. Research from respected organizations in civic engagement determined that quality civics education programs possess three strong pillars: Knowledge, Skills, and Actions. PA Civics uses these pillars to inform our work.
KNOWLEDGE - a fundamental understanding of the structure of government and the processes by which government passes laws and makes policy.
SKILLS - the abilities necessary to participate as active and responsible citizens in our democracy.
ACTIONS – the activities of citizens that include but are not limited to voting, participating in community meetings, volunteering, communicating with elected and appointed officials, signing petitions.