State Seal of Civic Engagement

Overview and Participating Educational Agencies

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 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.

Participating Local Educational Agencies

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

2022–23 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)
List includes participating districts and schools by county for the 2022–23 school year. Each tab on the Excel spreadsheet represents a different participating county.

2021–22 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)
List includes participating districts and schools by county for the 2021–22 school year. Each tab on the Excel spreadsheet represents a different participating county.

2020–21 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)
List includes participating districts and schools by county for the 2020–21 school year. Each tab on the Excel spreadsheet represents a different participating county.

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.

Per the State Board of Education adoption of the criteria, the CDE is exploring ways to integrate civic engagement and the SSCE into the College and Career Indicator of the California School Dashboard. This work has been paused due to a large-scale re-architecture of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. Collection of any additional data, including data related to civic engagement, will be delayed until the 2022–23 school year.

State Seal of Civic Engagement Implementation Guidance

Pursuant to California Education Code sections 51470–51474 , the California Department of Education (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

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.

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.

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

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 Seal
• Constitutional Rights Foundation SSCE Resources
• Content, Literacy, Inquiry, and Citizenship Project SSCE Resources
• Educating for Democracy
• 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
• Tulare County SSCE Resources

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