By Reid Wilson September 17
Name one of the authors of the Federalist Papers. How many justices are on the Supreme Court? What do we call the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution?
Students in seven states may soon be required to know the answers to those questions and more before they graduate from high school. A group aimed at boosting civics education in U.S. schools is using today, the 227th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, to begin pushing state legislatures to require high school graduates to pass the same exam that immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship must pass.
The Civics Education Initiative will introduce legislation in Arizona, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah to require students to take the test at any point during their high school careers, and to pass it before receiving a high school diploma or a general equivalency degree.
Public surveys show they have a long way to go. A 2011 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found just 15 percent of Americans could correctly identify the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, while 27 percent knew Randy Jackson was a judge on American Idol. Only 13 percent knew the Constitution was signed in 1787. And just 38 percent were able to name all three branches of government.
In each of the seven states, CEI has prominent co-chairs who will back the legislation. Former senators Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) will push legislation in Phoenix. Sen. Tom Coburn (R) is supporting the measure in his home state of Oklahoma. And former South Carolina governors Jim Edwards (R), Dick Riley (D) and Jim Hodges (D) will advocate for the test in Columbia.
Their goal: To implement similar requirements in every state by Sept. 17, 2017, the Constitution’s 230th birthday.
If they succeed, students graduating from high school will already know the answers to the three questions above: That John Jay, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton wrote the Federalist Papers, that there are nine members of the Supreme Court, and that the first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.
How would you do on the U.S. Citizenship Quiz? Test yourself here:
View Photo Gallery —The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services partnered to create a Web site to help immigrants study for the civics portion of the naturalization test. The questions below are samples from their preparation materials. During a naturalization interview, you would be asked up to 10 civics questions from a list of 100. You must correctly answer six questions to pass the civics portion of the naturalization test. The exam requires you say the answers aloud.
Reid Wilson covers state politics and policy for the Washington Post’s GovBeat blog. He’s a former editor in chief of The Hotline, the premier tip sheet on campaigns and elections, and he’s a complete political junkie.
Posted: Thursday, October 2, 2014 12:00 pm
By Debbie Baldwin
As a parent, you constantly hope you are doing it right. Occasionally, things happen that confirm that hope, changing it into a belief: I believe I’m doing it right. Be it an A on a test, a win in the big game, a good decision on the playground or at a party, the belief becomes a surety. Wow, I’m a good parent—no, I’m a great parent! You bask in the glow of it and fleetingly consider baking cookies or taking on a DIY project. And then one day, your teenage child stands in the kitchen, between you and the cupboard, and says with disturbing sincerity: I need a plate.
Wait. What just happened? I was getting ready to brag about you at a party. Suddenly, I’m wondering if you have a complete set of chromosomes. The plates are right where they have always been—just at arms’ length behind you. I mean, sure, I guess I could put down the two gallons of milk I am holding with the head of lettuce balancing precariously on top and get you one, but is it that much of a burden to rotate 90 degrees and extend your free hand?
Where did I go wrong? He hit all the milestones as a kid—crawled when he was supposed to, babbled a few syllables at the proper time. I can still remember my friend, Jody, in a panic that her oldest son, Teddy, hadn’t clapped when the book said he should. I glanced proudly at Cranky and Whiny, clapping away, and assured her it would happen. Will she give me the same smug sympathy when I tell her my teenager cannot locate dinnerware? Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s fine. He’ll figure out the kitchen cabinets…eventually.
Well, this is really going to put a dent in my parental boast. I mean, what good is an A on a chemistry test when your kid won’t be able to get through the cafeteria line? Perhaps I’m making too much of it. I guess I should be glad he asked for a plate at all, no matter how horrified I may be at his inability to execute. And I guess we all need these subtle reminders that no matter how good of a job we think we’re doing, there will always be that moment when your kid needs a plate.
BY BILL DRAPER ASSOCIATED PRESS
10/03/2014 10:19 PM 10/03/2014 10:19 PM
KANSAS CITY, MO.
A judge struck down part of Missouri’s gay marriage ban for the first time on Friday by ordering the state to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states, saying state laws banning the unions single out gay couples “for no logical reason.”
The order means such couples will be eligible to sign up for a wide range of tax, health insurance, veterans and other benefits now afforded to opposite-sex married couples. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, who has defended the state’s ban on gay marriage, said his office was reviewing the ruling.
The decision comes in a lawsuit filed by 10 same-sex couples who legally married outside the state, including Arlene Zarembka and Zuleyma Tang-Martinez. The St. Louis couple, who married in Canada, said Friday’s ruling could boost their household income, and they plan to apply Monday for Zarembka to receive Social Security benefits as Tang-Martinez’s spouse.
“To me, it’s a real validation by the judge of our relationship and our commitment to each other,” Tang-Martinez said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which is helping the couples, noted the ruling was a first in the state.
“We’re gratified that the court recognized that married same-sex couples and their families are no different than other couples, and that the Constitution requires them to be treated equally,” ACLU attorney Tony Rothert said. “This is not the first court to reach this conclusion, but it is the first court to do so in Missouri, so it’s a tremendous day for our state.”
Jackson County Circuit Judge J. Dale Youngs sided with the couples, who argue that their rights to equal protection and due process are being violated by Missouri’s ban on gay marriage. Youngs said the couples deserve the same recognition as opposite-sex couples who married in other states.
“The undisputed facts before the Court show that, to the extent these laws prohibit plaintiffs’ legally contracted marriages from other states being recognized here, they are wholly irrational, do not rest upon any reasonable basis, and are purely arbitrary,” Youngs wrote. “All they do is treat one segment of the population — gay men and lesbians — differently than their same-sex counterparts, for no logical reason.”
The lawsuit before Youngs only challenges Missouri’s refusal to recognize marriages legally performed outside the state, not laws that bar same-sex couples from getting married in Missouri.
Rothert said the ruling means that thousands of Missouri couples can now qualify for spousal government benefits and, on a smaller level, change their last names to match their spouse’s on their Missouri driver’s license.
The case is among at least three challenging Missouri’s ban: There is a federal challenge in Kansas City, and a St. Louis case focuses on city officials who issued marriage licenses to four same-sex couples to trigger a legal test of the ban.
The lawsuits are based on the same arguments that led the U.S. Supreme Court last year to overturn part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that denied a tax, health and other benefits to legally married gay couples.
In Missouri, Youngs said he expects the state Supreme Court to “provide the last word on all of the important legal issues presented by this case.”
Same-sex marriage is now legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The ACLU has cases pending against 13 other states with such bans, including five cases currently before federal appeals courts.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/article2498765.html#storylink=cpy