Civic literacy course and test now required

Civil Literacy town hall meeting flyer including information about the event. Photo courtesy: FAMUINFO

A virtual town hall Wednesday addressed how students can maneuver through the civic literacy graduation requirement and any questions students had about civil literacy.

The 2017 Florida Legislature amended Section 1007.25, of the state’s statutes to require students initially entering a Florida College System institution or state university starting in 2018-19 to demonstrate competency in civic literacy.

The panelists were Sundra Kincey, assistant vice president for program quality, Kelly McMurray, associate vice president for Strategic Planning Analysis and Institutional Effectiveness, and Ivey Williams, the testing coordinator.

FAMU officials said that the requirement was an important discussion and the meeting was the most effective way to get students’ questions answered.

Kincey gave key information about FAMU’s civic literacy requirement, what needs to be completed before graduation, resources to aid students, and frequent questions.

“Civic literacy defined by the state of Florida is an understanding of the basic principles of American democracy and how they’re applied in our republican form of government and an understanding of the U.S. Constitution,” Kincey said. “It is also defined as the knowledge of the founding documents and how they’ve shaped the nature and functions of our institutions of self-governance as well as an understanding of landmark Supreme Court cases and their impacts on both the law and society.”

Students are expected to complete a civic literacy course or a civil literacy exam. The only students who are expected to meet this graduation requirement are undergraduates who were either admitted to the university at the beginning of fall 2018 through summer A 2021, or were admitted at the beginning of summer B or fall 2021. The statute was changed in 2021, making it a requisite for students to complete both the class and the exam.

McMurray provided information about the courses that can be taken to complete the requirement.

“For students admitted to FAMU beginning fall 2018 through summer 2021 have the option to complete the course or exam,” McMurray said. “The course options to complete the requirement are POS 2041 or AMH 2020 with a C or higher. If students have taken the following courses in high school, they’re not required to take the course or exam: AP government and politics passing the exam with a 3 or higher, AP U.S. history with a 4 or higher and CLEP: American government passing the exam with a 50 or higher score.”

Students admitted to FAMU at the beginning of summer B/fall 2021 must complete both the course and exam. If students haven’t taken those high school courses listed above, they’re expected to also pass POS 2041 and AMH 2020 with at least a C. If students were also enrolled in the following courses in high school: Cambridge AICE history passing the exam with an A-E or IB History passing the exam with a 5-7; these students are still required to take the exam with a passing score of 60.

In preparation for the exam, students can use the civic literacy course module located in Canvas and additional study material can be found on the Florida Department of Education’s website under civic literacy. Exams can be scheduled in person at the testing service bureau or online at www2.registerblast.com/famu/Exam/list. If students have additional questions or need more information, they should contact the test service bureau at 850-599-3333 or famutesting@famu.edu.