The critical need to improve civics education in securing
access to justice
By Patrick M. Kelly
As you all know, we have just gone through a catastrophic
court funding shortfall that has resulted in the denial of access to justice
for thousands if not millions of Californians. The question is often asked
"How did this happen?" There are certainly many reasons such as a
sagging economy and pressure to fund what are viewed by some as more important
priorities. However, I would like to point out there is an additional reason –
a lack of public understanding of the need for an independent judicial branch
and the critical need to effectively fund it so that it can continue to provide
full and fair access to justice for our citizens. I believe a root cause of that
lack of understanding is the lack of education as to how our government works
and the importance of our justice system. In short, the decline in civics
education and the consequent decline in understanding of our government is the
crux of the failure to properly prioritize and thus fund our justice system.
As to evidence of the lack of understanding of our
government, you don't have to take my word for it. On the last nationwide
civics assessment in 2010, more than two-thirds of students scored below
proficiency. Moreover, according to the 2010 Civic Report Card released by the
National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 22 percent of eighth-graders
could recognize a role performed by the Supreme Court. And as pointed out by
Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, "On the last national measure of
K-12 school student civic knowledge, barely a third of students could name the
three branches of government, and an equal number could not even name
one." Perhaps even more shocking, she said, is that fewer than 20 percent
of eighth-graders know why the Declaration of Independence was written.
With such a gap in civic understanding, is it any wonder
that a significant number of our citizens lack the basic understanding of
government necessary to assert their constitutional rights? They often do not
understand the importance of our third branch of government – and the need to
preserve it – unless they are involved in criminal or civil litigation. That
speaks very poorly for our civics learning in California and in part explains
why our courts have not been accorded the priority they deserve. So how do we
help fix this problem?
In California, required civics education is generally
limited to requiring students to take an American government course in the 12th
grade. Not only does that defer the very necessary civics knowledge that should
impact student learning throughout their entire education, it leaves students
that drop out of school before the 12th grade with no civics education
whatsoever. As Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye has so aptly put it, that
requirement is simply “too little and too late.”
As lawyers we have an important interest in not only serving
the community, but also in preserving access to justice, which can only be
secured through an understanding of our government and the critical role our
justice system plays in preserving the rights of our citizens. Thus I could not
agree more with the chief justice's concern, and that is also why I feel
privileged to serve on the California Task Force on K-12 Civic Learning. That task
force is a joint creation of the chief justice and State Superintendent of
Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. Co-chaired by Justice Judith McConnell of the
4th District Court of Appeal and Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David
Gordon, it is charged with the 12-month mission of creating a blueprint to
address the improvement of civics education in California by exploring four key
areas for school communities and students: curriculum; instructional practices
and resources; professional learning; community and business partnerships; and
student assessment and school accountability.
Of the three branches of government, the judicial branch is
often the least understood. Without the basic foundation of civics education,
how can we expect our citizens to become knowledgeable and involved? And how
can we expect them to understand the importance of the courts in their lives
and the lives of other citizens? As officers of the court, we thus need to be
meaningfully engaged in the effort to improve civics education in California.
Patrick M. Kelly is the immediate past president of the
State Bar of California and western region managing partner at the law firm of
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker in Los Angeles.