Florida's legal community: gatekeepers to democracy by advancing civics and law-related education.

It was a simple line in the massive 160-page education bill that passed the Florida Legislature in its just-ended regular session. On page 40 of HB 7087, in the midst of a list of courses that middle school students must take, is this prosaic language: "Three middle school or higher courses in social studies, one semester of which must include the study of state and federal government and civics education." That last phrase made it into the bill at least in part because of a campaign by former Bar President Alan Bookman.

"We now have a mandated semester of civics in middle school, which is a fantastic start," he said of the bill. "In order for people to have a proper foundation in how democracy works, we need to start that education earlier."

In the spring, Bookman got the Board of Governors to approve a poll of Floridians on their knowledge about American government and its basic principles after the issue was brought to Bar leaders by the Bar's Citizens Forum. That survey echoed earlier findings of a national poll by the ABA in that less than 60 percent could identify the three branches of government. And less than half understood the concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances. Bookman used those findings at joint appearances in the Tampa Bay area with ABA President Michael Greco to underscore the need for better civics education. He continued to make that point in meetings with newspaper editorial boards and sent out a letter calling for better civics education to media throughout the state.

The result was a spate of stories in newspapers and TV broadcasts highlighting the citizens' lack of knowledge of their government, how it works, and its founding principles. Several newspapers chipped in with editorials calling for better civics education in the state's schools, beginning in middle school--and mentioning favorably Bookman's efforts.

That in turn caught the attention of Common Cause, the Florida League of Women Voters, and the Florida Law Related Education Association. Working with Rep. Curtis Richardson, D-Tallahassee, in the House, and Sen. Ron Klein, D-Delray Beach, in the Senate, they managed to get the critical sentence added to the bill. Richardson said he cited findings

from the Bar survey in his floor debate to get the civics requirement included in the bill, which took some doing.

"The survey that the Bar did was clear evidence that citizens don't know their government," he added. "We need to begin to teach...