With the private sector and funding those apprenticeship those apprenticeship programs. Watch monday night on cspan two. The annual winter meeting of the washington governors with and fundingments for projects. Among them, jason furman, who discusses how automation is affecting the labor sector. 15. Is 1 i really thrilled. One of the things we are trying to do is respond to suggestions and i want to say that it is a real pressure for me to be back because this is my third winter haveng and i am honored to the opportunity to kickoff this topics session here today. Of this session will consist and presentations and we will cover everything from Civic Engagement to the National Infrastructure bank to state successes. Pressing its use for all of us and these are issues we need to pay close attention to, if we are not already. The presentations are designed to introduce food for thought and give ideas that we can take in our ownd value to states with a Forward Focus on the future. Im going to kick it off, because i have the privilege to talk about Civic Education in this country. There is a saying among governors that you always remember your first bill that you sign into law and, for me, it was the first law we signed in arizona and we were the first filled aand it for Campaign Promise and it is something that the people in this room are really good at. It filled a need in our system. In many things do you have front of you in this environment ,hat passes with bipartisan popular, and wide support, well, the american civics act will make sure that all of our students graduate with a basic understanding of our National History and guiding principles. Was theay oconnor first woman to serve on the Supreme Court and called this a on education and i felt compelled to address it. 16 soon. Looking at as youutchison know, the Arkansas House passed their version by a landslide vote and we are excited that the bill is on its way to the senate and we are encouraged that it will meet the sing jurors the desk for signature soon. I am asking you to direct your eyes to the screen to show you a sort video. The educated citizen knows how much more there is to know. Informedn educated and people will be a free people. Lets start with some basics. More emphasis on American History and civic ritual. The ignorance of one voter in democracy adds to the insecurity of all. It is clear that the future activecountry requires and engaged citizens, but Many Americans cannot name a branch of the government. Ofwithout a knowledge civics, people are deprived the ability for change in the country losese out. The Civics Education initiative is an effort to ensure that all 50 states have a graduation requirement that students must pass the same civics test that all new americans take. This 100 question test provides schools maximum flexibility to implement it in the way that works best for them. Unlike standardized tests, it cannot negatively impact funding or job security. This commonsense legislation has been passed and proposed in states across the nation. Im proud that we were the first state in the country to require of civics test. It was the first bill that i signed as governor. This Important Initiative is a First Step Towards a more engaged and typically minded youth. We prepare students for life. By putting civics on statewide assessment, we are showing students that knowing how government functions is is important as math, science, or english. So many people are not aware, let alone engaged in the issues. Our generation needs to understand the structure of our government. This initiative was so easy to implement. Because the teachers and Study Materials were already in place. This is not like other tests that require major funding and resources from the state. The test is free, the Study Materials are free, and it is easily accessible online. To become a citizen, i had to pass a civics test. I was very emotional when i became a citizen. It was something i had desired for a long time and it did not come easy. It took a lot of time and sacrifice, but it felt like this country was finally my home. How can we expect new americans to know this information and not the grade school and high school kids, upon graduation from an American Public high school . From my experience, when my students know that something is on a test, they pay attention. This is our first step to help students have a basic understanding of civics. If you are going to be involved in a community, you need to understand the levers of power and how to move things forward. Its a great way to produce more active, engaged, and knowledgeable citizens. This is the kind of legislation we can all get behind. Protect the future of our nation by creating active, engaged citizens, ensuring that America High School students understand how it works. Lets pass the Civics Engagement Initiative in every state. [applause] want to give a big thanks to everyone involved in that video and for helping us to spread the word on this great idea. I especially want to thank governor and jay nixon, the former governor of missouri. It is a testament to the strength of this organization that when i came in as a new governor there was a class for new governors and it was Governor Nixon of missouri that was one of the instructors. I called him up and asked him to be the cochair and champion on this National Bipartisan effort. He was an easy yes. Im grateful for that. While im on the subject of recognizing leadership, i also want to express my gratitude towards norm mcclellan and foster freeze, for their commitment to this program. They are both with us today. It is because of their generous philanthropy and dedication to this issue that the discussion has been raised from the state level to national level. So, thank you very much. [applause] governor ducey and as i mentioned before, in this political environment, Civic Engagement is a bipartisan issue. Im proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the individuals who bring action to this vital cause. Some, as you know, i dont come from a traditional political background. 10 years ago i was running an Ice Cream Company called cold stone creamery. Let me tell you, you get a lot of undeserved popularity when you are selling ice cream. I want to assure you, that all goes away when you balance your first budget. It wasnt until i sold cold stone in 2007 that i first got involved in elective politics. Thats when i really started to pay more attention to what was happening in government. I wasnt happy with the direction that things were headed. I decided i wanted to do something about it. Public office seemed like a good place to get started. In 2010 iran for straight state treasurer in arizona. As i started my campaign i realized i was spending an inordinate amount of time having to explain to Business Leaders in the state of arizona that the office of state treasurer was an elected office. I even had one Business Leader that many people would recognize his name in the state of arizona who said oh, you dont have to run for that office. I can get you appointed to it. That just wasnt factual. I want you to think back on your own years campaigning. Im sure that you had to explain basic principles of governing and civics to voters in your state. So, for years later, when i was elected governor of arizona, i made the american civics act an important part of my education platform. As we saw in the video, the idea is simple. All graduating seniors must be able to pass the same test required of a new United States citizen. This is common sense and i think it is more crucial and important to healthy political debate than ever. It was john adams who once said that all children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. I think that is something that we can all agree on. How can we expect our children to protect the principles on which this country was founded if they dont even know what those principles are. We talk a lot about how important it is to vote, to be a good citizen. To get involved in Public Service. We tell young people that it is your civic duty, it is your responsibility. And yet after every election we are disheartened by low youth voter turnout. We expect them to do their part, but i would challenge all the governors here, who have wheeled on our part . Here, have we all done our part . We saw only 59 of eligible voters actually cast a ballot. Meanwhile, as Governor Nixon mentioned in the video, numerous studies and surveys show that a majority of americans lack the basic understanding of how our country was founded. How it is governed and what it means. And what the responsibilities are of a citizen. The statistics are alarming. According to the National Assessment of educational progress, only 9 of fourth graders can identify a picture of Abraham Lincoln and tell us two things that he did that were important. Just 7 of eighth graders could correctly identify the three branches of government. And overall, only 24 of High School Seniors scored proficient or above on the nape civics test. In general, interest and proficiency in traditional and basic civics is declining. In a december 2014 survey, only 37 of adults said that it was important to be informed about public issues. Down from 56 in 1984. The picture is even more grim for young citizens. The voting rate of the Millennial Age Group dropped from 51 in 1964 to 38 in 2012. More recently, only 16 of this age group said that they trust government. What people do not understand about the system, when people do not understand the system and how they affect change within it, they are naturally going to be frustrated and too often this leads to them disengaging from the political process. The american civics asked addresses this and it begins with all of us in this room. This is something that we can touch all of our High School Students with across the country. Because as i like to say, its cute when a fiveyearold doesnt know who the president of the United States is. But when 10 of our College Graduates believe that judge judy sits on the Supreme Court, its just not that funny. Let me give you a feel for what some of the questions are on the american civics test. What country did we fight in the revolutionary war . When was the declaration of independence adopted . What are the first 10 amendments to the constitution called . These are not difficult questions. These are questions that every student should be able to answer before graduating high school. I think that when we were growing up, we dont even remember where or when we were taught these things. They were with our coaches, our scoutmasters. Today, unfortunately the statistics tell the story. Too many of our kids do not know the answers to these questions. But it is not all bad news. Because like any national crisis, we have some wonderful people that have stepped up, organizations all over the country, to find a solution. One of those is the Joe Foss Institute. I only got this idea that he is to dinner as Richard Dreyfuss was speaking to this dinner, with charles krauthammer. One representing the right, one representing the left. They said that they disagreed on every issue under the sun. But the only issue that they have 100 agreement on was the american civics act. It was the way that they had a healthy, respectful, civil kind of debate on the direction they wanted see the country go. Like i said, there are not many issues that, as a governor, and when i was running for office i adopted this the next day, would get spontaneous applause when i said we were going to bring this back to american high schools. The Joe Foss Institute had a model bill. I want to take a brief moment to briefly recognize one of the biggest champions of this effort. My friend, dr. Lucian [indiscernible] he had planned on being here this morning. Sadly, a death in his family has rerouted him back to ohio to be with loved ones during this difficult time. Our condolences and prayers are with the family. While we are looking forward to hearing from him today, on behalf of him, karen summers is here to speak for the institute. Will everyone join me in giving a warm welcome to the Vice President and director of communications, karen summers . [applause] miss summers good morning. Im happy to be here on behalf of dr. [indiscernible] and i want to thank you personally for your efforts in your vital role. You took an action that is effective leadership and great governments. Governance. Today the Civics Initiative has grown into a National Effort with strong, bipartisan support. I am proud to say that it all started in arizona. However, i think you all consents the magnitude of this endeavor. It is a significant step forward. And yes, it is a big lift. With this in mind, i would like to talk to you about our involvement in this initiative, why we are going with it and why you should care and how you can help. First, let me tell you about jf i. The enduring with legacy of a medal of honor recipient who founded the institute in 2001. Serving nearly 2 Million Students through its veterans inspiring patriotism program, which works with vets to deliver educational materials, including the u. S. Flag and founding documents to classrooms all over our country, in all 50 states. Through this endeavor we were able to see firsthand how the emphasis in the classrooms has shifted away from civics, creating, as governor ducey said, the education crisis that we find ourselves in today. So, in 2014, jf i launched the Civics Initiative. Now, as you can see on the map, 15 states have enacted our proposal. 20 more states are considering the legislation this year. By the end of 17, we hope to have passed the legislation in over half the country. State to have adopted this requirement are already engaging students in showing transformative changes. For example, in jamestown, north dakota, not one freshman passed the pretest given on the first day of class last year. In fact, most of the scores were under 45 . However, by the end of the semester, 95 of the students not only passed the test, but they scored over 70 . In terms of the model of the test and how it is given, we know that there is no one size approach that fits all. The states are, in fact, the laboratories of democracy. We are seeing many of them take ownership at customizing the legislation to fit their own states and needs. For example, some states have increased the threshold of passage from 70 to 60, adding their own questions to 70 from 60, adding their own questions. Regardless of how each state implements the initiative, its clearly a very different experience than current standardized testing models, where students are pulled out of the classroom and they spend hours coloring the bubbles on the scantron paper, hoping that you dont have to erase anything. The citizenship test, however, is not that. It is a very straightforward test that can be taken on paper, online, or even on an app. And it costs nothing. I would like to repeat that, it absolutely costs nothing. It is not tied to teacher salaries or School Funding and all it does is establish a baseline of knowledge which is absolutely necessary to understand higher topic levels. We all know that before you can read, you have to learn to spell. Before you can spell, you have to learn the alphabet. Before you can solve complex equations, you have to memorize your multiplication tables. These concepts are fundamental, Critical Thinking to those subject areas. We believe that these questions, posed by the civics test, are just as fundamental in civics. As Thomas Jefferson envisioned, its our responsibility to pass on these civic views and set High Expectations for our children and for future generations. And now, before i turn it back over to the governor, i have a question for all of you. I am going to ask you to think back to your days as a student and some of us will have to think further back than others. What was the one question you could count on someone asking in your class every time, every lesson, without fail . We may have even been one of those that asked the question. Is this going to be on the test . Ms. Summers is this going to be on the test. You remember how it all went. If the answer was yes, we all took our notes. Now they get out their computers. We had had in paper. We engaged in the subject matter and paid attention. On the other hand, if the answer was no, the entire class leaned back, took it easy, drifted back, disengaged. Today they check facebook and their phones. From a student perspective, having civics on a test that matters is important. It tells them that the topic is important. As it relates to america, the same is true. We want our students leaning forward and informed. We should expect no less of ourselves. This can be a team effort. I hope that you all will throw your shoulder into this and help us to get it done. In a moment, you will have in front of you packets that tell you how to move governor ducey thank you. I would like to thank you for making it so easy for us governors and legislature. Im so optimistic. I think karen gave a great