New from DemocracyReady NY 
Developing Digital Citizens: Media Literacy Education for All Students, a new report from DemocracyReady NY, calls for immediate and decisive steps to require media literacy education in schools throughout New York State. Stressing that “the internet has become the new public square,” it asserts that “to be democracy ready, all students must be media literate.” The report defines what media literacy encompasses in an increasingly digital age, and establishes a clear framework to ensure that all students become media literate civic participants.
The full report can be read below:
Mission & Goals
Mission
DemocracyReady NY is a statewide, nonpartisan, intergenerational coalition of organizations and individuals committed to preparing all students for civic participation.
Goals
- To promote all New York students’ right under the state constitution to develop the knowledge, skills, experiences, and dispositions needed to engage, today and in the future, as effective civic participants,
- To raise awareness about that right,
- To strengthen state education law, policy, practice, and resources to guarantee that right in every New York school, and
- To mobilize the expertise of students, parents, educators, researchers, advocates, legal experts, youth-development specialists, policymakers, and philanthropy to work collectively toward these goals.
Big Picture
National Civic Crisis
- The last several years have highlighted some troubling developments in our national politics: an increasingly polarized electorate, lack of focus on substantive policy, and widespread acceptance of one-sided, erroneous information.
- Other disturbing trends have existed for decades. A low proportion of eligible voters actually go to the polls; the number of citizens who participate in local community activities has dramatically declined; and more Americans than ever are neglecting basic civic responsibilities, like jury service.
- These worrisome trends raise serious questions about how well schools are carrying out one of their most critical responsibilities—to prepare a new generation that is capable of safeguarding our democracy and stewarding our nation toward a greater realization of its democratic values—even though the U.S. Supreme Court and 32 state supreme courts have explicitly stated that preparation for capable citizenship is a primary purpose of education.
New York State Constitutional Right Not Realized
- The New York State constitution guarantees every student in the state the right to education defined in terms of preparation for civic participation.
- Far too many schools, particularly schools that serve students in poverty and Black and Brown students, are ill equipped to provide this type of education and fulfill this critical guarantee.
- If schools are not preparing students for active civic engagement, then they are not meeting their obligations under the law.
- Many experienced educators, civic education experts, and democratic engagement advocates are surprised to learn this. Even fewer students and families have access to this important information.
New York Can Lead the Way
- Equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, experiences, and values, young people recognize their civic roles and exercise their civic powers to work for meaningful social change.
- Through a concerted effort by DemocracyReady NY and others who care deeply about civic preparation and engagement, New York can lead the way in ensuring that, from pre-K through 12th grade, schools prepare young people to strengthen our democracy.
About the Coalition
Conveners
- The DemocracyReady NY Coalition is convened by the Center for Educational Equity (CEE), a policy and research center, at Teachers College, Columbia University. CEE’s expertise and experience in students’ rights, education policy, civic participation, and public engagement position it to lead the Coalition.
- Founded in 2005 by educational law scholar Michael A. Rebell, who successfully litigated the landmark educational-rights lawsuit, CFE v. State of New York, the Center for Educational Equity champions the right of children nationwide to a meaningful opportunity to graduate from high school prepared for college, careers, and civic participation. It works to define and secure the resources, supports, and services necessary to guarantee this right to all children, particularly children in poverty and Black and Brown children.
- CEE Executive Director Michael Rebell is the author of the acclaimed 2018 book Flunking Democracy: Schools, Courts, and Civic Participation.
- On November 29, 2018, Rebell filed a federal class action suit to establish a right under the U.S. Constitution to an adequate education to prepare young people for full civic participation. Read more about the lawsuit.
Members
- DemocracyReady NY Coalition partners are educators, researchers, academics, students, parents, advocates, youth-development specialists, legal experts, and civic leaders. We strive to be geographically representative, politically inclusive, and racially and socioeconomically diverse.
- Under the coalition’s banner, a broad and diverse group work together to strengthen the state’s education policy and practice to ensure all New York’s schools are fully equipped and supported to meet their students’ civic-learning needs.
Organizations (in formation)
Alliance for Quality Education
Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute
Capital Region Institute for Human Rights
Center for Children's Initiatives
Center for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University
Citizens’ Committee for Children
League of Women Voters of New York City
League of Women Voters New York State
New York State Council for the Social Studies
New York State Council of School Superintendents
New York State Parent Teachers Association
New York State Rural Schools Association
New York State School Boards Association
New York State Social Studies Supervisory Association
New York State United Teachers
The Education Trust - New York
Westchester Putnam School Boards Association
Individuals
Jason Clark, Metropolitan Black Bar Association
Shira Epstein, The City College of New York
Brett Levy, University at Albany, SUNY
Ioana Literat, Teachers College, Columbia University
Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Teachers College, Columbia University
Laura Smith, Teachers College, Columbia University
Youth Leaders
- DemocracyReady NY includes and honors the voices and leadership of young people in its work. Its youth leaders —11th and 12th graders from diverse regions across the state—join forces with the other Coalition individuals and organizations to ensure that New York students are fully prepared to participate in the civic activities and decision-making that affect them and their peers, as well as their families, their communities, and our broader society.
Contact
For more information or to help support the DemocracyReady NY Coalition, please contact the Center for Educational Equity at equity@tc.columbia.edu or visit centerforeducationalequity.org.
Senior Staff
Michael A. Rebell, Executive Director and Professor of Law and Educational Practice
Jessica R. Wolff, Director of Policy and Research