Civic Education News & Articles | Close Up Foundation

Civil Rights & Individual Liberties Education Social Issues US History

Should the Federal Government Influence How Museums Present American History?

April 28, 2026

The administration of President Donald Trump has raised concerns that federally funded institutions, such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), wield the power to either heighten or ease racial tensions through what the administration calls “divisive” and “ideologically driven” narratives. The administration is scrutinizing the portrayal of the nation’s heritage […]

Education Equality

Should the Federal Government Subsidize Private School Tuition?

April 20, 2026

The historic passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” in July 2025 brought about numerous new tax and spending policies. The Education Choice for Children Act passed within the text of the bill, representing the first federal, voucher-style, school choice program set to begin in January 2027. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has described it […]

Education Executive Branch US History

The Trump Administration Advocates Changes at the Smithsonian

October 06, 2025

On August 12, 2025, the White House sent a letter to the Smithsonian Institution stating that it would be “leading a comprehensive internal review of selected Smithsonian museums and exhibitions.”1 This review aims to ensure alignment with President Donald Trump’s vision to “celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our […]

The Rise and Impact of Phone Bans in U.S. Public Schools

September 12, 2025

In recent years, cell phones have moved from novelty to necessity in daily life, but in U.S. public schools, they’ve also become a battleground. Facing growing concerns about distraction, mental health, and safety, state legislatures and school boards across the country are implementing bans on student phone use during the school day. Supporters say the […]

Book Bans in Schools and Libraries

June 09, 2025

Book banning—along with other ways of restricting public access to written expression—has been a common and controversial issue throughout the history of the United States. For example, Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird,” has been repeatedly banned in schools and public libraries across the country since it was published in 1960. Challenges to the […]

Should the Department of Education Be Abolished?

March 17, 2025

On March 3, the Senate confirmed Linda McMahon as the thirteenth secretary of education.1 Secretary McMahon has pledged to dismantle the Department of Education in what she calls its “final mission,” and on March 11, the Department announced it was cutting nearly 50 percent of its workforce.2 President Donald Trump is expected to sign an […]

Education Social Issues

What Role Should Parents Have in Public Education?

March 19, 2024

In the years following students’ return to in-person classes after the COVID-19 outbreak, questions about parents’ role in education and curriculum development—and the appropriateness of discussing controversial topics such as sex and gender orientation in the classroom—have come to the forefront of political debate. A bill recently introduced in Congress, the Books Save Lives Act, […]

COVID-19 Education

Recovering from Pandemic Learning Loss

February 22, 2024

On January 31, Harvard and Stanford Universities released the Education Recovery Scorecard, an assessment of student achievement following the COVID-19 pandemic learning loss.1 The report detailed the gains third- through eighth-grade students in 8,000 school districts across the country have made in their math and reading scores.2 The Education Recovery Scorecard results show that there […]

Criminal Justice Education Equality

Reversing the “School-to-Prison Pipeline”? Part 3: Examining the Impact of Prison Education

July 01, 2023

In Part 1 of this series, we saw that more severe approaches to school discipline—including “zero-tolerance” policies—have been statistically linked to higher rates of incarceration, especially among Black boys. This is seen as a key contributor to mass incarceration, which Part 2 showed has grown substantially since the final decades of the 20th century. In […]

Criminal Justice Education Equality

Reversing the “School-to-Prison Pipeline”? Part 2: The Debate Over Mass Incarceration

June 22, 2023

Should We Decarcerate? Since the start of the War on Drugs, the United States has adopted and enforced policies that have led to mass incarceration, with nearly half of all incarcerations due to drug crimes.1 According to the Prison Policy Initiative, the rate of incarceration in the United States outpaces every other nation on […]