{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-inhofe-push-to-expand-civics-education", "King, Inhofe Push to Expand Civics Education", "2018-09-17", "2018", "2018-09", "Independent", "House", "ME", "Angus King", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, U.S.\r\nSenators Angus King (I-Maine) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced the\r\nConstitution education Is Valuable In Community Schools (CIVICS) Act, to\r\nsupport the development of Constitution and civics education curriculum for\r\nstudents across the country. The Senators' legislation comes on Constitution\r\nDay, which was established in 1952 to recognize the importance of the United\r\nStates Constitution and the importance of citizenship and civics in our daily\r\nlives. In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln\r\ncalled upon the American people to take up the cause of our nation, and fight\r\nfor the continued success of Government of the people, by the people, for the\r\npeople,' said Senator King. But Lincoln's plea doesn't only apply to his\r\ncontemporaries  it is the responsibility of each successive generation to\r\ncarry the mantle of American civic life forward. In order to live up to the\r\nideals of our nation, it is important to first fully understand them; civics\r\neducation is one of the most important ways we can teach our future leaders\r\nabout our past, and I'm proud to support any effort to expand its presence in\r\nschools. The Constitution established the\r\nbasis and formation of our nation: that we are a government of the people, by\r\nthe people and for the people. Yet, too often, students aren't taught about the\r\nConstitution, its history or its principles  including the Bill of Rights,\r\nInhofe said. By restoring an emphasis on the Constitution in civics education,\r\nwe can encourage more young Americans to be active participants in our\r\ndemocracy by communicating with their elected officials, engaging in advocacy\r\nand, when eligible, voting in state, local and federal elections. First established in 1952, Congress\r\nexpanded the recognition of Constitution Day in 2004, requiring public schools\r\nand federal agencies teach the Constitution and civics lessons. While the\r\nAmerican History and Civics Education program under the Elementary and\r\nSecondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, created grants for institutions of\r\nhigher education and other organizations to develop evidence based approaches\r\nto improve the quality of American history, civics and government, or geography\r\nlearning and teaching, schools who receive these grants are not required to\r\nteach the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. The CIVICS Act would require\r\ngrant recipients to teach the Constitution.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-inhofe-push-to-expand-civics-education"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8767289109528065, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}