State Seal of Civic Engagement

Overview

In October 2017, then-Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 24 into law. The law required the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI), on or before January 1, 2020, to recommend to the SBE criteria for awarding a SSCE to pupils attending public school who have demonstrated excellence in civics education and participation and an understanding of the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, and the democratic system of government. The law also required the SSPI to consider, among other criteria, the successful completion of history, government, and civics courses, including courses that incorporate character education and voluntary participation in community service or extracurricular activities.

A hallmark of the SSCE is its accessibility to all students, regardless of their backgrounds, communities, and experiences. This includes taking into consideration how LEAs can support California’s most underserved students in earning the seal in ways that may not always mirror traditional student paths to civic engagement and learning. As civic engagement may look different from community to community, the CDE encourages LEAs to work with local and statewide organizations to develop local criteria and to design and implement impactful civic engagement programs and pathways that reflect community interests, needs, and resources.

The CDE is deeply thankful to the following organizational partners that helped to develop the SSCE criteria. These organizations are also gathering resources to support local implementation efforts:

• Authentic Preparation Today (APT) Work Group
• California Courts Civic Learning Initiative
• California History-Social Science Project
• Civic Engagement Research Group
• Content, Literacy, Inquiry, and Citizenship Project
• Leveraging Equity and Access in Democratic Education

The CDE especially thanks the APT Work Group, which designed and contributed the image used for the SSCE insignia.

Data

Participating Local Educational Agencies

The below spreadsheets include participating districts and schools by county for each school year that the SSCE has been available. Each tab on the Excel spreadsheets represents a different participating county.

Additional reports will be added to this list annually, as they become available.

2023–24 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)

2022–23 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)

2021–22 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)

2020–21 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)

State Seal of Civic Engagement Data Collection Project

During the summer and fall of 2024, LEAs that requested insignias for the 2023–24 school year submitted student SSCE data to an Educational Data Collection System (EDCS) for potential future incorporation of civics in the College and Career Indicator (CCI) on the California School Dashboard.

Additional information and guidance related to this process is available from the CDE California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System office:

• Update #268 (March 15, 2024): Background and general information, steps to prepare for SSCE data submission.
• Update # 271 (May 9, 2024): Accessing the EDCS, submission timelines, instructions for submitting data.

This new data collection is based on the SBE request to the CDE to consider the inclusion of civic engagement in the CCI. Additional background information about this project is available from the SBE Items Related to the SSCE web page.

State Seal of Civic Engagement Criteria

The five criteria presented below are meant to provide LEAs with a framework for making determinations of student qualifications required to earn the SSCE, based on their own local contexts. The criteria are written to ensure that no student is excluded from an opportunity to earn the SSCE based on academic ability, alternative school settings, or unique or unconventional expressions of civic engagement.

The student must:

1. Be engaged in academic work in a productive way;
2. Demonstrate a competent understanding of United States and California constitutions; functions and governance of local governments; tribal government structures and organizations; the role of the citizen in a constitutional democracy; and democratic principles, concepts, and processes;
3. Participate in one or more informed civic engagement project(s) that address real-world problems and require students to identify and inquire into civic needs or problems, consider varied responses, take action, and reflect on efforts;
4. Demonstrate civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions through self-reflection; and
5. Exhibit character traits that reflect civic-mindedness and a commitment to positively impact the classroom, school, community and/or society.

State Seal of Civic Engagement Criteria Development

To learn about the development of the criteria, please visit the SSCE Criteria Development web page.

State Seal of Civic Engagement Implementation Guidance

Pursuant to California Education Code sections 51470–51474 , the CDE is responsible for developing and publishing criteria for students to earn the SSCE, and also for overseeing the process for developing and disseminating the insignia to LEAs. In addition to ongoing updates to its web pages, the CDE will provide additional guidance to LEAs through technical assistance webinars. These will include an overview of the SSCE, implementation supports, and guidance for ordering the insignia. When ordering insignias, districts will self-certify that students earned the SSCE based on locally-created criteria.

The SSCE Implementation Guidance for each criterion offers ideas and considerations to structure local requirements to award the SSCE, using the criteria set forward by the CDE as a foundation. Each LEA should develop criteria considering its own local context to ensure maximum accessibility for all students, at all grade levels, including those in alternative school settings. Local governing boards are encouraged to approve or adopt their own policies regarding implementation of the SSCE criteria.

Implementation Resources

Start here! New to the SSCE, and wondering how to bring it to your LEA? Check out the 2024 SSCE Technical Assistance (TA) Webinar (PPTX) presentation. This slide deck provides an overview of the SSCE and extended guidance for LEAs developing local SSCE programs. LEAs may also wish to use these slides for local presentations on developing an SSCE program.

SSCE TA Webinar Recording (Video; 1:24:53)

Procedures for Awarding the State Seal of Civic Engagement

Additional technical assistance and knowledge-building resources to support LEAs in ordering SSCE insignias will be posted under this tab as they become available.

Frequently Asked Questions
Responses to the most frequently asked questions about the SSCE.

Overview of the SSCE (PPTX)
General overview of the SSCE Program, including historical information and next steps for LEAs.

Local Programming (PPTX)
Suggestions for LEAs beginning to implement the SSCE locally.

Getting Started with the SSCE (PPTX)
Overview and extended guidance for LEAs developing SSCE programs. LEAs may also wish to use these slides for local presentations on developing an SSCE program.

External Websites Dedicated to State Seal of Civic Engagement Implementation

The websites listed below have been developed by organizations that are supporting LEAs implementing the SSCE.

• Civic Engagement Research Group Educating 4 Democracy
• Civic Seal
• Teach Democracy SSCE Resources
• Content, Literacy, Inquiry, and Citizenship Project SSCE Resources
• Los Angeles County of Education (LACOE) SSCE Collaborative , including online modules to support criterion 2 (PDF)
• Monterey County Office of Education SSCE Implementation and the SSCE Padlet
• National Council for the Social Studies Civic Seal Toolkit
• Orange County Department of Education Civic Learning Resources
• Region 6 Civic Engagement and the Region 6 SSCE Toolkit
• Riverside County Office of Education SSCE
• Riverside Unified School District Civics
• Sacramento City Unified School District SSCE
• Santa Clara County Office of Education SSCE
• Tulare Joint Union High School District Civic Engagement

Resources to Support General Student Civic Engagement

Guidance and resources for student civic engagement are available on the CDE Resources to Support Student Civic Engagement web page.

Statewide Civics Recognition Opportunities

Many LEAs that offer the SSCE also participate in other statewide civics recognition opportunities.

• Civic Learning Initiative’s Civic Learning Awards
• LACOE’s California Democracy School Project

Request State Seal of Civic Engagement Insignias

2023–24 SSCE Insignia Request
Local educational agencies (LEAs) seeking insignias for the 2024–25 school year should use this link. LEAs may also use this form to request additional insignias, or make corrections to 2024–25 insignia requests. Please submit insignia requests at least four weeks before insignias are required.

State Seal of Civic Engagement Insignia Request Instructions

The SSCE Technical Assistance Webinar (PPTX) presentation and video (coming soon!) includes guidance on submitting insignia requests for 2024–25.