County-ordered civics education fighting the clock

Written by Alexander Luzula on October 1, 2024

Miami-Dade County’s newly ordered civics education program, with a deadline to be in operation by Dec. 1, is moving ahead with planning, months after it was initially proposed and announced in June.

Originally an initiative pushed forward by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Marlene Bastien, the program, known officially as the Miami-Dade County Civic Engagement Academy for Civic Education, would allow for free, publicly available courses on civics education, including education on the three branches of government, checks and balances, voting and the jury system.

The academy would target Miami-Dade County adults, particularly the wide population who immigrated to Miami-Dade County prior to or in the process of becoming citizens, an estimated 53% of the county’s population.

While state law requires students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools to pass a year of civic literacy classes to graduate from high school and college, the program will be designed to target and aid those who did not attend primary or secondary school in Miami. Within the United States, only nine states and the District of Columbia require a full year of civics courses, and only 11 require a half year of civics education.

The new initiative intends to “provide a mechanism for constituents to become more informed and have a better understanding about how government works,” and argues that “individuals who participate … and learn about the inner workings of government may increase their civic engagement or become more interested in serving in one of the branches of the government,” with South Florida’s status as “a diverse melting pot of individuals from places across the nation and around the world” making this program necessary.

The program was adopted unanimously by the county commission, with Mayor Daniella Levine Cava naming Ray Baker, director of the Miami-Dade County Public Library System, and Cassandra Arnold, deputy chief of staff of the Office of the Mayor, as the co-leads of the new academic program.
In a previous statement made to Miami Today, Dr. Arnold said the program would look towards a combination of online and in-person classes, with the public libraries being used as a venue for classes.

According to budget proposal documents for the 2024-2025 fiscal year that began this week, $150,000 would be allotted to the academy under the purview of the Public Library System. The program would be developed in part by the University of Miami’s Community and Educational Well-Being Research Center, an office of the university’s School of Education and Human Development, which would design and deliver the program as specified in the legislation.

Mr. Baker and Ms. Arnold both declined to comment on the program’s status, and Commissioner Bastien was also not available. Jennie Lopez, senior media manager for the Office of the Mayor, said, however, that the program is on track, and that Mr. Baker and Ms. Arnold are still in the process of developing the curriculum and details.

Legislation demands that the program begin classes by its Dec. 1 deadline.