Civic Literacy
Steps to Complete the Civic Literacy Requirement
In 2017, the Florida Legislature amended section 1007.25, Florida Statutes, and introduced a new civic literacy requirement for all students graduating from a Florida public postsecondary institution.
Beginning in the fall of 2018, students entering a Florida public postsecondary institution for the first time would need to demonstrate civic literacy by either taking a specific course or passing an assessment. The 2021 Legislature amended section 1007.25, Florida Statutes, requiring students to complete both a course and an assessment. In 2024, the Board of Governors revised Regulation 8.006 to include the course AMH X010 to meet civic literacy competencies and to better align the regulation to the Florida Department of Education rule. As a result of these changes, four cohorts of students are currently matriculating through Florida public postsecondary institutions subject to varying civic literacy competency requirements.
Table 1 outlines the civic literacy requirements based on the specified date of the academic term in which a student initially entered a State University System (SUS) or Florida College System (FCS) institution.
Table 2 details which options meet the course and assessment requirements for each cohort of students. Some options only satisfy the course or assessment requirement, while others may satisfy both.
Credit received for courses in Board of Governors Regulation 8.006 (AMHX010, AMHX020, and POSX041) via credit-by-exam will count toward the course requirement.
- If the exam used as the basis of awarding credit is in Regulation 8.006 (e.g., AP and CLEP), the student would be considered as having met both the civic literacy competency course and the assessment requirement.
- If the exam used as the basis of awarding credit is not in regulation (e.g., AICE and IB), the student would be considered as having met only the course requirement. These students would need to be assessed using an assessment approved in the regulation.
Beginning with fall term 2024 and thereafter, any undergraduate degree-seeking student, regardless of their cohort, can use any of the approved options for Cohort 4 to satisfy civic literacy competency before graduation.
Item 3 outlines the specific competencies in civic literacy defined by Florida Statute 1007.25 and Board of Governors Regulation 8.006. These competencies establish the knowledge and skills students must demonstrate to meet the civic literacy requirement.
TABLE 1: Civic Literacy Requirement by Cohort of Students
*It is the university’s discretion to determine academic year.
Additionally, for Cohorts 3 and 4, approved accelerated mechanisms may meet the course and/or assessment requirement, and students who pass the Florida Civic Literacy Examination (FCLE) in high school are exempt from the postsecondary assessment requirement.
Table 2: Course and Assessment Options for Cohorts 2, 3, and 4
*If completed Fall 2024 or after.
**Students may take these CLEP exams after their first semester by exception to meet the Civic Literacy requirement.
Item 3: 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.
Understanding of landmark Supreme Court cases and their impact on law and society.