[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20453]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING THE NORTH CAROLINA CIVIC EDUCATION CONSORTIUM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 30, 2004

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, while many institutions 
help to develop Americans' knowledge and skills and shape their civic 
character and commitments, our nation's schools bear a special and 
historic responsibility to provide our students an adequate civic 
education.
  On September 20-22, 2003, the first annual Congressional Conference 
on Civic Education was launched. The conference was sponsored by the 
Alliance for Representative Democracy and co-hosted by the four leaders 
of the U.S. Congress. One of the very positive outcomes of the 
Congressional Conference was the establishment of state delegations 
that would return to the state to enact specific policies designed to 
restore the civic mission of our schools.
  I would like to recognize the North Carolina Civic Education 
Consortium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 
facilitator of our state's delegation, for helping the delegation 
design a strong action plan to improve civic education. This action 
plan and related efforts have led to the following accomplishments: 
hosting a successful statewide policy summit on the civic mission of 
schools for state and local policymakers; securing grant funds to pilot 
model practices and policies in two school systems that could have 
statewide implications; developing a new resource guide for schools to 
help them implement new civic education legislation; and gaining 
visibility and support from the State Board of Education.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to North Carolina's continued leadership 
in civic education reform and their participation in the second annual 
Congressional Conference on Civic Education, which will be held on 
December 4-6, 2004.

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