Seal of Civics Literacy

 Seal of Civics Literacy Background

• HB2568 (2018)
• Arizona Administrative Code R7-2-320 (Updated 2024)

 Seal of Civics Literacy Yearly Reports

Reports are created each academic year. Schools are required to report the number of students awarded the Seal of Personal Finance by September 1 of the start of the next school year. Select the years below to view the annual report that includes: number of students awarded, participating districts/charters, and other general information. 

• 2023-2024
• 2022-2023
• 2021-2022

Seeking more specific information that is not in the report? Please reach out to the Data Governance team.

 What is Civics Literacy?

Civics literacy is the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for informed, responsible participation in public life. Productive civic engagement requires knowledge of the history, principles, and foundations of our Constitutional Republic, and that each person has both human and civil rights. People demonstrate civic engagement when they address public problems individually and collaboratively and when they maintain, strengthen, and improve their communities and society. Civics also requires an understanding of local, state, national, and international institutions. Civics encompasses practices such as voting, volunteering, jury service, contributing to public processes, and public discourse.  (Arizona History and Social Studies Standards 4)

When thinking about the knowledge needed to meet civics proficiency, consider the Arizona Civics Standards, including the four anchor standards (Arizona History and Social Studies Standards 5):

• C1: Civic virtues and democratic principles are key components of the American political system.

• C2: Citizens have individual rights, roles, and responsibilities.

• C3: An understanding of civic and political institutions in society and the principles these institutions are intended to reflect, including knowledge about law, politics, and government, are essential to effective citizenship.

• C4: Process, rules, and laws direct how individuals are governed and how society addresses problems

Research tells us that it is critical that students participate in civic learning that includes:

1. the 21st-century skills of collaboration, cooperation, and consensus-building; 

2. an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship; and 

3. knowledge of the roots of our democracy. (NCSS Civics Seal Toolkit)

While students must complete one half credit of government in order to graduate high school here in Arizona, the Seal of Civics Literacy focused on the extened learning and engagement in civic activities. It is important to consider the folliowing definititons when thinking of the Seal of Civics Literacy.

Civics Learning: Whenever students are actively learning civics concepts as defined by the Arizona History and Social Studies Standards. Students can also focus on the civics course topics for their extended learning. Learning is defined as "the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught (Oxford Languages)."

Civic Engagement: These are activities where students interact with community members, either virtually or in person, to identify and address causes or issues at the community, state, or national level. Students apply their civic knowledge and skills in these activities, which are supervised and validated by a leader. These activities are conducted in collaboration with a public agency or a civic organization, including schools.

Community Service: These are unpaid activities, aimed at benefiting and improving the community. They involve collaboration with credible organizations or groups that are not affiliated with the participant's family. The activities are validated by a supervisor or leader and can be tailored to align with the participant's personal interests and preferences. These activities do not align with civics topics listed in the Arizona State Standards. Just being in an organization does not qualify you for service hours (attending a lunchtime meeting for NJHS is not service or civics learning).

Social Studies Course: These are the required social studies courses in order to graduate here in Arizona. These courses are: World History and Geography, US/Arizona History, Economics, Government. Your school/district may name the course differently by the course must meet the standards and topics listed in the standards document. These courses do not meet the civics learning requirement for the seal. 

 Student Eligibility

• Student must be attending a participating public school or charter. Not sure if you attend a public school? Search for your disctrict/charter on the AZ School Report Cards website. 

  • The Arizona Department of Education oversees the District Coordinators and does not work directly with students as we do not have access to the student information systems required to earn the Seal. 

  • Homeschooled students are not eligible for the Academic Diploma Seals. 

• Students must complete all requirements during grades 9-12. The only requirement that can be completed before 9th grade is passage of the Arizona Civics Test. 

• Students must complete all required high school social studies courses with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 out of a 4.0 scale.

• Students must obtain a passing score of 70% on the Arizona Civics Test.

• Students must meet the specific requirements from each of the 3 categories. 

  1. Civics Learning (Complete/Participate in 3 Instances) 

  2. Civics Engagement (Complete 30 Hours) 

     1. Just being in an organization does not qualify you for serivice hours (attending a lunch time meeting for NJHS is not service or civics learning).

  3. Written Reflection (Demonstrate Students' Civic Knowledge) 

• Civics engagement activities can also be completed through programs listed under Civics Learning. For example: A student may be active in a Student Government elective which includes instances of civic learning through governmental processes, then the student government decides to host a get-out-the-vote campaign on campus which counts as a civic engagement activity.

 Resources for Students and Parents

Seal of Civics Literacy Student Checklist

Seal of Civics Literacy Flyer

Project Zero Digital Civics Toolkit

Participating Districts & Charters

 District/Charter Eligibility

• Any PUBLIC school, charter, or district may choose to participate but they must complete the INTENT TO PARTICIPATE FORM by September 1 of the participating year.

• Districts must select ONE COORDINATOR, aka point of contact for the Seal of Civics Literacy. This is how the Director of the program can get in touch with you, including messaging about changes in programs, upcoming due dates, and getting the seals directly to the schools. There can be one coordinator for all of the seals or an individual for each one. 

• Schools/districts must develop their own process for collecting student data and distributing the seals. This process must be equitible across all sites across the district with students grade 9-12. Individual teachers in a district cannot create their own process for their students. 

• Participating school districts and charters must make information regarding the Seal of Personal Finance program available to teachers, parents, and students. If there are multiple sites in the district, this information must be consistent across sites. All students within a district are eligible. 

• Schools/Districts must report seal data through the REPORTING FORM no later than 90 days after the school year or by September 1.

 Requirements for the Seal

• Students must complete all required social studies courses with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 out of a 4.0 scale. 

• Students must pass the Arizona Civics Test with a 70/100. This requirement can be met between grades 7-12. 

• Students must meet the following requirements:

  • Completion of at least three instances of civics learning.

  • Completion of at least 30 hours of civic engagement activities.

  • Completion of a written reflection. 

• Details and definitions have been provided below. While the required government course does not count as an instance of learning, activities can be completed during the school day or in class. 

• Civics engagement activities can also be completed through programs listed under Civics Learning. For example: A student may be in the Student Government which counts as civic learning through governmental processes, then the student government decides to host a get-out-the-vote campaign on campus which counts as a civic engagement activity.

 Resources for the Coordinators

• Student Checklist
• Seal of Civics Literacy Flyer
• Information Slide Deck
• Written Reflection Rubric
• MobileServe App
  • MobileServe helps track, manage, and report social impact. Travk student colunteer hours online, empower students, ditch the pen and paper, connect volunteers to opportunities. 

 Awarding the Seal of Civics Literacy

Formal Seal from the Arizona Department of Education

The Arizona Department of Education will contact those districts/schools that participated and will request an unofficial count of students receiving the Seal of Civics Literacy in the beginning of April. Foil and sticker seals will be sent out to be added to Diplomas.

Optional Recognitions for Seal of Biliteracy

The Arizona Department of Education does not supply any of the following options. A local district or school may provide these items to its students who earn the Seal of Civic Literacy:

• Triple-wrapped graduation cord - Colors for the Seal of Civics Literacy can be red, white, and blue..

• Certificates are issued to students earning the Seal of Civics Literacy

• Medals for the Seal of Civics Literacy

• Recognition ceremony or assembly

• Mention in a local paper

• A banner with student names that earned the Seal of Civics Literacy

If a student receives test data after school has ended (AP or IB exams, for example), they still earn the Seal. They can return their diploma to their school to have the Seal of Civics Literacy attached. The transcripts would also be updated by the district/school once the tests have been recorded. 

Civics Learning Requirement

• Students must complete or participate in at least three instances that specifically focus on civics content and learning (view the Arizona State Standards for guidance on the definition of civics education). 

• This learning must be other than a traditional senior government course. AP Government is an acceptable program with a score of 3 or above, but it is not required. 

• Students are not required to participate in an institute or program that requires travel. 

• Some program links to specific counties or cities but note that as long as it is the same program, it meets the criteria. 

• Programs with an asterisk* are programs that provide opportunities to meet the learning and civic engagement requirements. 

*These programs may also provide opportunities to meet the Civic Engagement category. 

Civics Engagement Hours Requirement

1. Students must participate in 30 HOURS of civic engagement activities, with at least 10 hours dedicated to civics-specific activities. 

2. Civic-specific (engagement) activities are defined as activities: 

   1. Where students engage with community members (virtually or in person) to identify a cause/issue in the community, state, or nation. 

   2. That must be validated by a supervisor or leader. 

   3. Where students are practicing civics and participating in civics (demonstrating their civic knowledge). 

   4. Are completed with a public agency or civics organization.

   5. That occurs outside of class time, but can still be completed at school.

3. Community service activities are defined as:

   1. Unpaid work performed for the benefit and betterment of the community.

   2. Working with a credible organization or group (not affiliated with the family).

   3. That are validated by a supervisor or leader.

   4. Can be completed based on personal interests and preferences.

   5. Just being in an organization does not qualify you for service hours (attending a lunchtime meeting for NJHS is not service or civics learning).

4. Districts/schools should provide a template for documenting these hours. Data collection can be done virtually or physically. It is recommended that the school collect supervisor information in case verification is needed. 

   1. SAMPLE TEMPLATE (Canva) 

   2. NJHS Volunteer Hours Form and Reflection (Created by Pinellas County School Board)

5. If a civic engagement activity is not on the list but meets the requirements, it is approved. There is such a variety of ways for students to participate in civic engagement, the list is practically endless!

Written Reflection

1. Participating students must complete a written reflection on their experiences earning the Arizona State Seal of Civics Literacy.

2. See the Written Reflection Guidance for prompts, alignment to the standards, and a rubric. 

3. Districts/schools are responsible for designing the process for assigning, collecting, and reviewing the written reflection. 

4. Completion of the following programs meets the written reflection requirement:

   • Civics, Leadership, and You from the Flinn Foundation

   • Imprints of Honor (previously Veteran's Heritage Project)

   • NextGen Roundtable: Student Civil Discourse Lab through CloseUp

   • Civics Matters Arizona

 FAQs 

1. Does signing up for military service meet any of the requirements for the Seal of Civics Literacy?
   • Yes! If a student signs up for militray service, they meet the requirement for 30 hours of civics engagement. 
2. I have a student that needs hours for another organization, can the student "double dip"?
   • As long as they are meeting the requirements adn the organization does not have a policy against it, they can use the hours for both. 
3. Does my student have to go out and get involved politically to earn the Seal of Civics Literacy?
   • Absolutely not! We find that students tend to prefer non-political project that deal with issues in their smaller, local communities. Students do not need to work for or with political organizations in order to earn the seal. 
4. What if we use/have a program already that is not on the approved list?
   • If it is a district created program that meets the definitions and civics standards, then you do not need to get it approved, though we would love to see it! If it is a outside organization or institute, please email the Director of K-12 Social Studies and World and Native Langauges or [email protected].
5. We have a student who did civic engagement hours between 8th and 9th grade, how do we count these hours?
   • Only hours earned between 9th and 12th grade are acceptable. Remember, the goal is to demonstrate proficiency in high school.
6. My student took the Arizona Civics Test in middle school. Do they need to take it again in high school?
   • If the student took the Arizona Civics Test, received a 70/100, AND the passing score/note is reflected on their transcript, then they do not need to take it in high school. If the high school does not have proof of passing, they will require your students to take it again. 
7. A student did not pass US History their first time around but retook the course and was able to earn an A. Do we have to count both grades in the GPA calculations?
   • No, please replace the course grade with the higher when calculating GPA. 
8. We have students who are waiting for test scores, how should we handle this situation?
   • We encourage you to err on the side of the student and honor them as a candidate for the seal. What is most important is the up to date transcript.