(INDIANAPOLIS) – The Indiana Bar Foundation and Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, chair of Indiana’s Civic Education Task Force, held the first task force meeting on April 17 via Zoom.
One of the task force’s objectives is to hear from national experts about a variety of civic education programs and initiatives that are making a real difference in “moving the needle” to increase Hoosier’s understanding, appreciation, and participation in civic life through quality and robust civic education.
During the meeting, task force members heard from Ted McConnell, senior policy advisor at the CivXNow Coalition in Washington, D.C., and Shawn Healy, chair of the Illinois Task Force on Civic Education and democracy program director at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation in Chicago.
In addition to the national perspective, the task force is looking at the civic education programs, opportunities and initiatives in local communities throughout Indiana. Teachers Janet Chandler, Fishers, and Molly Bowman, Fort Wayne, gave local perspectives at the meeting.
The task force will utilize the information gathered during these meetings to produce a report laying out specific, actionable recommendations to increase civic education opportunities for all Hoosiers, which in turn will serve as a catalyst to increase Indiana’s overall civic health.
The creation of this task force comes as a recommendation from the 2019 Indiana Civic Health Index. The Indiana Civic Health Index measures how actively citizens are engaged in their communities using a variety of data points including voting, volunteering and the public’s trust in various societal institutions compared to other states.
