The Civics for All initiative aims to reduce the civic empowerment gap by providing all New York City Public Schools students with access to high quality civics education.
Our students can become engaged community members who think critically and are empowered to chart the future course of our city and country. Civics for All supports schools teaching students how to make connections between history, current events, and democratic structures.
We provide comprehensive resources and professional opportunities to teachers. Civic instruction in turn fosters commitments to civic action in students, who develop their knowledge of democracy and put their civics skills into practice.
Civics Week 2026
Civics Week is a time for schools across the city to celebrate youth voice, civic empowerment, and the importance of registering to vote. Civics Week includes efforts to get every young person to understand that their voice matters and that they can create change as active participants of their community.
During the week, K-12 schools across the City celebrate youth voice, civic empowerment, and the importance of registering to vote. Each year Civics for All shares resources to help prepare schools to organize Civics Week events.
Student Voter Registration Drive
As an integral part of Civics Week each year, the DOE hosts an annual Student Voter Registration drive for U.S. citizens who are 16 years of age or older.
Civics for All Poster Contest
New York City students in grades K through 12 are invited each year during Civics Week to showcase their civic engagement and artistic talent by participating in the annual NYCDOE Civics for All Poster Contest. The annual poster contest encourages students to:
- Learn about important issues
- Realize why student voice matters
- Understand and amplify why voting and active civic participation are important
View the 2025 Winning Posters!
SoapboxNYC
SoapboxNYC is a public speaking competition that calls on students to speak out about issues that affect them and their communities. Students create and advocate for solutions to improve their schools, communities, and the lives of other young people.
See Project Soapbox in action
Participatory Budgeting In Your Schools Program
Participatory Budgeting (PB) is one of the components of Civics for All's Partner School Program. PB is a student-driven, democratic budgeting process where school community members decide how to spend part of a budget on something to improve the school community. Participatory Budgeting in schools tends to run each school year from November–March. In 2023–24 we had over 400 schools participating in the PB process!
Seal of Civic Readiness
The New York State Seal of Civic Readiness (NYSSCR) is a distinction on student diplomas that encourages civic knowledge and participation through experiential learning and the engagement of youth voice, leadership, and action. It lets employers and post-secondary institutions know that students have developed the competencies central to being an active member of a community and society. In addition to serving as a special endorsement on student diplomas, the Seal of Civic Readiness is a graduation pathway, meaning it can stand in for the fifth Regents exam for a Regents or Local diploma.
Civics for All manages the NYSSCR for NYC schools. The Department of Social Studies and Civics has led work in the State to ensure that students are given access to the highest quality civic learning experiences and achieve civic readiness as a result of their K-12 education, while also emphasizing the importance of social studies, civics, and humanities education as central to the development of life-long skills and success. For schools that are interested in granting the Seal of Civic Readiness visit the Civics for All InfoHub.
Resources for Students
Civics for All Comics Group
The Department of Social Studies and Civics' Civics for All Comics Group began as a collaboration between the NYCDOE, creators Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey, and Good Trouble Productions with the publishing of Action Activists #1 and Registered #1 in 2020. Since then, the comics group imprint has grown, developing social studies and civics comics as companions to several of our resources.
Check out our Civics for All Comics!
Resources for Schools
Teachers and administrators who want to learn more about Civics for All and Civics Week should visit the Civics for All InfoHub.