Trust for Representative Democracy: Project Citizen

Trust for Representative Democracy

Resolution of the NCSL Executive Committee

The operations of state legislatures and the roles of individual legislators are often little understood by citizens. Yet public understanding of the institutions and processes of government is critical to building public trust and confidence. State legislatures need to bring about better understanding of the concepts of representative democracy. Education about representative democracy should emphasize the importance of compromise and the difficulty of resolving competing interests in a diverse society.

Civic education is a vital tool to promote greater understanding of the legislative institution and the role of legislators in representative democracy. NCSL urges the nation's state legislatures to promote civic education on representative democracy. Steps that legislatures should consider include:

Providing effective and timely information to the public on legislative processes and procedures.
Producing educational materials such as textbooks, videos, school curricula, games and multi-media programs that explain the complexities of the legislative process.
Reviewing and evaluating individual state requirements for civic education in K-12 schools in relation to the national campaign to promote civics and government.
Strengthening participatory learning programs such as mock legislatures, internship programs and capitol tours.

The NCSL staff is also directed to develop a budget and action plan for expanded NCSL programs in civic education.
Approved July 1998, NCSL Annual Meeting, Las Vegas

Visitor counts for this page.