Legislative Mandate for Civic Literacy

Compliance with Civic Literacy Florida Board of Govenors Regulation 8.006

As stated in Florida statute (1007.25), every student initially entering a Florida College System institution or state university in 2018-2019 and thereafter must demonstrate competency in civic literacy.  The legislation defined the following as competencies in civic literacy:

• Understanding of the basic principles of American democracy and how they are applied in our republican form of government;
• Understanding of the U.S. Constitution;
• Knowledge of the founding documents and how they have shaped the nature and functions of our institutions of self-governance; and
• Understanding of landmark Supreme Court cases and their impact on law and society.

The Florida Board of Governors (BOG) Regulation 8.006, passed in March 2018, established a broad guideline for institutions to comply with the legislation.  As outlined in BOG Regulation 8.006, students can demonstrate their competency in civic literacy by scoring 3 or higher on the AP exam for POS2041, 4 or higher on the AP exam for AMH2020, 50 or higher on the CLEP American Government exam, or score 60 or higher on a test based on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization Test with supplemental questions (to ensure all competencies are assessed).  Every SUS institution will use the same test, compiled by the Florida Board of Governors using questions taken directly from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization Test and developed by the Louis Frey Institute of the University of Central Florida.

The University of Florida will require every first-time-in-college student entering beginning in Summer B 2018 to demonstrate competency in civic literacy.  If a student does not meet the AP exam threshold score for POS2041 or AMH2020, the CLEP American Government threshold score, the student can either take the Civic Literacy Test provided to them in a Canvas web site or take one of the two above courses.  Students taking the test will be allowed unlimited attempts and will be encouraged to prepare for the exam through resources available on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services web site.

UF will engage all first-time-in-college students in assessing their status in meeting this requirement beginning in Preview Prep, during which those students not meeting advanced placement or CLEP standards will be encouraged to prepare for and take the test prior to their engaging in Preview on campus.  This Civic Literacy requirement must be met as a UF graduation requirement; however, all first-time-in-college students will be urged to fully comply with the requirement by the end of their second year.  The student’s transcript and degree audit will note successful completion of this graduation requirement once the student has satisfied it. 

Students who have passed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization Test will be required to demonstrate competency in Civic Literacy as outlined above.  Students who transfer from out-of-state institutions will also be required to demonstrate competency in Civic Literacy, regardless of whether they have passed a Civic Literacy test in another state.