Getting The Word Out.

Legislatures are disdained but largely unknown entities to the average citizen. Educating the public is vital.

Civic education in the United States has an uphill battle ahead.

One problem is the lack of civic knowledge among Americans. The 1998 Civics Report Card, based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, found that one-third of students in grades four, eight and 12 did not have even a "basic" knowledge of civics, and only one-quarter were considered "proficient." Adults show little more knowledge than youngsters, as surveys tediously document.

Another problem is the lack of civic involvement, which is in just as precarious a state as knowledge. Voting has been on the decline for four decades now, and young people are especially uninterested. Fewer than one in five 18- to 24-year-olds bother to vote. The attitudes of American youth on politics, citizenship, government and voting are explored in the New Millennium Project of the National Association of Secretaries of State. When it comes to participating in the democratic process or feeling connected to citizenship, politics and government, the disinterest of young people is frightening.

Older citizens are more likely than younger ones to engage in political life, but they too are pretty apathetic. A poll of New Jersey citizens in early October 1999, for example, asked if they knew which offices were up for a vote in the next month's election. Only 9 percent correctly identified the state Assembly as being on the ballot, while 78 percent said they did not know, and 13 percent incorrectly named other offices. Only one out of five of the eligible voters even voted in that election.

People don't like politics either. They are negative, distrustful and cynical about political institutions, political processes and political people. Young and old alike believe that most politicians are dishonest; government is run by a few big interests looking out for themselves, and not for the benefit of all; and that the system just doesn't work. National and state polls and focus groups repeatedly show that citizens not only lack knowledge and are disengaged, but that they hold legislators and legislatures in exceedingly low esteem.

State legislators recognize that, as part of their representational role, they have some responsibility for civic education. They have been working at explaining representative democracy and the legislative process to the public for quite a while now. Over a half century ago, for example, Massachusetts passed a law requiring the legislature each year to conduct a Student Government Day for high school students. Much more is being done today.

America's legislatures increasingly are getting the word out that:

* Citizens ought to participate because they can make a difference.

* Legislators do listen and care what their constituents think.

* Being a legislator is not an easy job.

* A bill must run the gauntlet in order to become law.

* Citizens neither agree on what the main problems facing the state are nor on what the solutions are to most problems.

* The legislature must come to agreement on many issues, and it does, mainly through deliberation, bargaining and compromise.

* The legislative system isn't perfect, but it does work.

Some legislatures have taken civic education into their own hands with programs that not only bring people to the Capitol, but teach them the value of representative democracy.

VISITING THE CAPITOL

The tour of the New Jersey State House starts in the rotunda, makes its way to the Senate gallery and majority conference room and then crosses over to the Assembly gallery and the governor's reception room. "Our mission," says Philip A. Hayden, town program coordinator for the Office of Legislative Services, "is to teach the legislative process, and that's what we do." Yet, each tour is audience driven. Adult groups tend to be more interested in architecture and art than in lawmaking, but the job of the guide is to try to relate the legislative process to the interests of the visitors on the tour--that is, to sneak in teaching about the process.

The 36,000 people--three quarters of whom were children--who visited New Jersey's State House in 1999 were shown around by 82 volunteer and staff guides. New Jersey's guided tours are unusual in two respects. First, they are the responsibility of the Legislature, whereas in most states tours are run by the executive branch, the governor's office, the historical society or a private contractor. Second, New Jersey's tours place as much emphasis as possible on the lawmaking process and the citizen's role in representative government. In most states, the capitol building and its history, architecture and art are the focus of the tour.

New Jersey will soon open a new welcome center for visitors. It has 5,000 square feet of which about one-fifth is for exhibits. The Legislature is seeking exhibits that are as interactive as possible--on themes such as government of and by the people, different levels of government, the three branches, citizen participation, and conflict and compromise as central to democracy.

CITIZEN SEMINAR

Two hundred and fifty miles north of New Jersey, Senate President Thomas Birmingham is presiding. But not one other Massachusetts senator is a participant in the floor debate on the death penalty. Instead, 65 citizens from across the state are taking part as "lawmakers" in a simulation that caps their experience in the Citizens' Legislative Seminar. People from all walks of life, including those learning to be State House tour guides, are in the seminar.

A former Massachusetts Senate President, Kevin B. Harrington, founded the program in 1976. "It is important not only that the Legislature know the changing needs of its citizens," said Harrington, "but also that citizens be aware of the character of their Legislature." The Citizens' Legislative Seminars, which are coordinated by Ann Reilly Ziaja of the Senate Legislative Education Office and held twice a year, meet on Wednesdays for six weeks for a total of 18 hours. Thirty to 40 legislators join citizens in discussions of topics that cover the ins and outs of the legislative process.

The seminars work to demystify the Legislature. "I now feel quite comfortable with the legislative process," said a woman from Burlington. "It is great to see the informal, personal side of legislators" was the evaluation of a woman from Jamaica Plain, who was impressed by the "honesty and frankness" of the legislators. A man from Attleboro described the legislators as "dedicated, hard working, competent people." He concluded, "I learned to respect even those with whom I disagree on the issues."

GETTING ACROSS TO YOUNGSTERS

Without doubt, though, the priority targets are youngsters and their teachers. Much of the material distributed by legislative public information offices is designed for high schools, middle schools and even elementary schools.

One of the most ambitious and effective programs is LegiSchool, run by the Center for California Studies, California State University at Sacramento. It is funded by the Legislature through the state budget. LegiSchool consists of town meetings and press conferences in which high school students get a chance to address legislators face to face. Since 1994, when the town meetings began, 85 classes have attended. Each year about 12,000 to 14,000 students view them on the California Channel, which also televises the Legislature's floor sessions and committee meetings. The focus of these sessions is on problems that affect students, and the aim is to stimulate critical thinking and a greater understanding of the governing process. Typically, the town meeting is held in a hearing room in the Capitol with a moderator, four legislators and six high school students at the dais discussing the topics while another 100 students crowd into the hearing room to watch.

This is the first time that many of these youngsters have been in a situation where a person of authority listens to them, according to the program's director, Kolleen Ostegaard. "That's a very powerful message to communicate to students," observed a high school teacher from Napa, who thought that LegiSchool was one of the most effective tools in California education. A Sacramento high school teacher described his students as "amazed by the experience" of seeing other teenagers sitting at a legislative hearing table and speaking directly with legislators. The conventional attitude that "there's no way they'll listen to us" was replaced among participants by the feeling that "we can make a difference."

At a LegiSchool press conference one student put a question to then-Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer, which Lockyer did not really address. The student summoned up all his courage and in a quivering voice followed up with: "You didn't answer my question, senator." Lockyer then proceeded to answer it and followed up by asking the student, "What do you think?" The lesson gets across: Legislators do listen, even to those who may not be old enough to vote.

The main way in which state legislatures reach out to older youngsters is through internships for college students offered in one way or another in about two-thirds of the states. Washington runs one of the better internship programs. It has been in operation for 45 years. The 2000 legislative session saw 60 interns from 18 public and private universities and colleges working in the Legislature. These interns are recruited, selected and trained by Judi Best and Joan Elgee, the two intern coordinators. Students are assigned to individual members of the Senate and to a pool for House members.

After three days of orientation, interns meet with the House or Senate coordinator on a biweekly basis. Through the course of their internships, students attend seminar sessions on standing committees and learn casework, bill drafting, bill tracking, parliamentary rules and procedure, lobbying, ethics and the budget process. They also receive training on computers and writing. The internship concludes with a simulated set of legislative committee hearings and floor sessions in which interns are assigned roles as bill sponsors, committee members and interest group representatives.

The internship in Olympia is linked with the students' academic programs at their colleges. Each college has different requirements for credit and most tie an academic component--such as a supervised paper or class--to the internship. Faculty members who supervise interns travel to Olympia on a number of occasions to meet with their students. All of them gather at the Capitol campus at least once to meet with one another and with the legislative coordinators and also to hear presentations by the interns.

Kentucky also has a first-rate intern program and, in addition, holds Legislative Information Days for college classes in political science and journalism. Four such days are held each session with about 40 to 50 students. Participants meet with legislative leaders, legislators, lobbyists and reporters. They, too, finish up the day with a very different idea than they had when they began it. One student, for example, learned that he could have a role in the legislative process and "this was news to me." Another student came away with a new sense of efficacy. "I understand the power I have," he said, "and that my voice counts."

COMMUNICATING ELECTRONICALLY

The Ohio legislature devised a novel approach to civic education and outreach. It is the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, whose nine members include four legislative leaders. The board operates Ohio Government Telecommunications, which was formed in 1996 with the responsibility of using telecommunications to bring government to the citizens of Ohio. It can reach 850,000 households with its broadcasts of Senate and House sessions (and committee meetings) on public, education and government stations throughout the state. Citizens can also log on to its Web site and view and hear the legislature. Legislators are getting feedback from people in their districts who say that they are watching what is going on and are liking (and sometimes disliking) what they see. "I saw you on television" is how some of their constituents approach them nowadays.

Currently the technology group is producing a video that will respond to some of the misperceptions people have about lawmakers and the lawmaking process. The objective is to contrast myth with reality, dispel some of the public's cynicism and let people know that their participation is welcome and counts. The video will be broadcast, put on the Web site and made available to legislators to show in their districts. The initial version is directed at high school seniors, the majority of whom are registered to vote.

The Minnesota Senate's version of C-SPAN began in 1988 and probably is as informative and engaging as television and cable coverage of a legislature can be. In presenting floor or committee proceedings, Senate Media Services delivers a product much like that produced in about 17 other states with gavel-to-gavel coverage. But while most legislatures are wary of commentary or interpretation, the Minnesota Senate is comfortable offering people guidance, as well as "legislative process verite." A member of the staff serves, as the Senate anchorwoman, telling viewers what will be covered, what the issues are and generally putting things in context. Denny Heck, who runs State Public Affairs Television in Washington and is one of the leaders in the field, is a fan of the anchor approach. "It's lust a tremendous service," he said. "If you just watched gavel to gavel, you wouldn't be very well informed."

The biggest problem, of course, is building up an audience. In the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, 2,000 to 3,000 households are tuned in at any given time. If the topic is hot, however, as many as 19,000 households may be watching. During the final half-hour of the 1998. debate over the Twins baseball stadium, the Legislature's viewership exceeded that of ESPN or CNN.

Senate Media Services goes beyond gavel to gavel, turning out a variety of civic education materials--a piece on what it's like to be a legislator, press conferences with legislators and features on high-profile issues such as unicameralism, which is being championed by Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, but resisted by the Legislature.

At the forefront of electronic communication is Nebraska's Warner Institute for Education in Democracy, which you can find online at www.unicam.state.ne.us/focus/. Using video streaming technology, Nebraska educates students in grades seven through 12 about representative democracy, state government and the Unicameral Legislature. The Legislature even offers an on-line internship program, inaugurated just this year, in which students develop research memos on public policy issues that are submitted to legislators and staff.

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

Legislative civic education in states such as New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Washington, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota and Nebraska is based on the belief that familiarity breeds understanding, not contempt. By bringing members of the public closer to legislators, legislatures and the legislative process, entities that are usually remote and abstract, as far as most of us are concerned, become connected and concrete. If only citizens thought of legislators generally and the legislature specifically the way they think of their own representative, cynicism would decline and trust would rise. The strategy, therefore, is to bring people to the Capitol and bring the Capitol to people.

The efficacy of this strategy is borne out by experience. Feedback from people who have watched the legislature on television, attended an orientation program for the public, or met with legislators on issues is positive. College students who intern in legislatures probably feel the effects of proximity most. They are up close, observing and involved, and for a substantial period of time.

And these varied efforts do change public attitudes. People are likely to get the sense that legislators are well motivated, care a lot about their constituencies, work hard and deal with complex problems on which people disagree. Although there is no systematic data on the subject, in-house evaluations and anecdotal evidence all point in an encouraging direction. And if it works for small numbers of people--and it does--it would benefit us all to intensify and expand such work state by state and in the nation as a whole.

Alan Rosenthal is a professor of political science at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

THE TRUST FOR REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

The National Conference of State Legislatures and lawmakers across the nation are joining together to launch a bold new civic education initiative: the Trust for Representative Democracy. Based on the ideas and fundamental principles of the framers of the Constitution, the Trust for Representative Democracy is designed to engage young people and build their understanding and support for America's democratic institutions and counter public cynicism and distrust of the legislative process. It will benefit citizens of all ages who aspire to promote the free exchange of ideas, confront and solve the critical issues of our time, and help make our nation a better place in which to live.

Several programs currently comprise the Trust for Representative Democracy:

* A New Public Perspective on Representative Democracy, a long-term project, is a partnership between NCSL, the American Political Science Association and the Center for Civic Education. It is an attempt to explain the essential principles and workings of representative democracy to the American public.

* America's Legislators Back to School Day, the third Friday in September, gives young people in all 50 states the opportunity to meet personally with their state lawmakers and learn firsthand about the role of the legislature in a democratic system.

* Project Citizen, an NCSL effort with the Center for Civic Education, sponsors a national academic competition for middle school students, designed to engage young people in politics, policy and government.

* Civic Education Awards, a national program of civic education awards, will identify and spotlight people and organizations around the nation that exemplify and foster the principles and values of representative democracy.

* National Media Campaign will be developed by the Trust for Representative Democracy on behalf of legislatures to counter the public and media atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion.

STARTING THEM YOUNG

It's a kids' playroom paradise of interactive figures, cartoons, coloring books, puzzles, games--but hidden within the fun is some good information on government.

Legislatures are starting policy training young and hoping for a cadre of well-informed voters at 18, as well as future political candidates. You can find some fun "kids' pages" at such sites as:

* Alabama Legislature, Student and Teacher Page

* California Assembly, Kids' Stuff

* Connecticut General Assembly, Kids' Page

* Delaware, Kids' Page

* Online Sunshine, for Kids: Official Guide to the State of Florida Legislature 

* Georgia General Assembly, Student Page

* Kansas Legislature, Kid's Net

* Maine, Secretary of State's Kid's Page

* Massachusetts, Just For Kids!!

* Michigan Senate, The Kids Page

* Nebraska Legislature, UNICAM Kids

* New Hampshire, Kids Page

* Texas Senate, Kids

* Washington State Legislature, Kids Page

* Wisconsin, Senate Kids Page

And, by the way, they can be real fun for an adult, too. For older youths, there also is:

* Florida Legislature, Citizens Guide: An Introduction to the Legislative Process

* Idaho, Saved by the Bill, a new video and teachers' guide on the Legislature

* Legislative Page Program, the Alabama Legislature offers a unique opportunity for young people to participate in the legislative process.

* Ohio, Living Ohio Government Series (L.O.G.S.)

* Warner Institute for Education Democracy, "...providing Nebraska students with a greater understanding and appreciation for representative democracy, their state government and the Nebraska Legislature."

LEGISLATIVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR CIVIC EDUCATION

NCSL is committed to strengthening people's understanding and support for our system of representative democracy and believes state legislatures have an important role.

The NCSL Executive Committee has urged the nation's 50 state legislatures to promote civic education on representative democracy by:

* Providing effective and timely information to the public on legislative processes and procedures.

* Producing educational materials such as textbooks, videos, school curricula, games and multimedia 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.

NCSL REACHES OUT TO YOUTH

Sponsored by NCSL's Trust for Representative Democracy, America's Legislators Back to School Day is designed to teach young people-the nation's future voters and leaders--what it's like to be a state legislator: the processes, the pressures and the debate, negotiation and compromise that are the fabric of representative democracy. It is aimed at focusing state legislators on civic education on the same day all across the country, building personal links between schools and legislators, and providing lawmakers an opportunity to observe what's going on in the schools. America's Legislators Back to School Day is a valuable opportunity for state legislatures to answer NCSL's call to promote civic education on representative democracy.

America's Legislators Back to School Day is scheduled for Sept. 15, 2000. Legislative leaders in each chamber have designated state coordinators for the event. Interested legislators should contact the state coordinators listed at http://www.ncsl.org/public/backsch.htm or their legislative leaders.