As the nation’s Semiquincentennial approaches in 2026—a quarter-millennium since the Declaration of Independence proclaimed self-evident truths that were anything but to much of humanity—Alabama confronts an uncomfortable reality. The state that once sent Hugo Black to the Supreme Court and produced towering figures in America’s constitutional drama now languishes in civic educational mediocrity, trailing states we should regard as intellectual inferiors.

Consider the catalogue of shame. Fourteen states now mandate civics education as a condition of collegiate graduation: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. This roster reads like a conservative coalition’s dream caucus.

Yet Alabama, ever eager to proclaim its conservative bona fides, absents itself from this sensible company. The irony is plain: a state that reliably votes for limited government and constitutional fidelity evidently considers instruction in the Constitution itself an optional amenity.

A recent report from the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal illuminates this pedagogical dereliction with dispiriting insight. American universities have transformed civic education from a cornerstone into an afterthought. Students satisfy “history requirements” through courses on increasingly specialized topics—often worthy subjects, but perhaps insufficient substitutes for systematic engagement with the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and the Republic’s formative documents. The result is legions of graduates with college degrees but lacking elementary knowledge of the governmental apparatus that secures their liberties.

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The University of Alabama is not recognized as one of the flagships with exemplary teacher preparation programs in civics. It requires prospective teachers to study either antebellum or postbellum American history, but not both. This bifurcated approach produces educators who may comprehend either the Constitution’s creation or its Civil War trial, but not the essential continuity between founding principles and their subsequent vindication. One wonders whether medical schools might similarly permit future surgeons to study either anatomy or physiology, but not both, on grounds of curricular efficiency.

Meanwhile, institutions from the University of Arkansas to the University of Wyoming—20 universities in total—demonstrate that comprehensive civic preparation for future teachers remains achievable. These programs require sustained engagement with American political development, ensuring that tomorrow’s educators possess the knowledge they must transmit. After all, as the ancients understood, one cannot give what one does not have.

The remedies, fortunately, need not await revolutionary upheaval or lavish appropriations. The Martin Center proposes several eminently sensible reforms.

First, mandate genuine civic education for teacher candidates. Teachers cannot impart knowledge they lack. Education colleges must require all future teachers to complete coursework addressing fundamental documents and pivotal moments in American history. This represents not ideological indoctrination but simple competence, the baseline expectation that those entrusted with forming young minds should themselves comprehend government architecture.

Second, establish a mandatory three-credit course on American institutions within general education requirements. The REACH Act provides a serviceable model: a systematic study of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and selected Federalist Papers. This modest requirement—one course among dozens—scarcely constitutes an onerous burden. Yet it would ensure that every graduate, regardless of major, encounters the documents that comprise America’s civic scripture.

Third, implement a College Civics Literacy assessment as a graduation prerequisite. If universities require demonstrated proficiency in writing and mathematics—skills necessary for personal success—surely they can require basic knowledge of the system that makes personal success possible. Such assessments need not be punitive; they should illuminate gaps requiring remediation.

Fourth, revitalize freshman orientation with substantive First Amendment education. Current orientations typically feature administrative minutiae and sensitivity training. Why not begin students’ collegiate careers by exploring the amendment that makes the university itself possible? Understanding free speech, religious liberty, press freedom, and petition rights would serve students better than most orientation programming.

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Fifth, observe Constitution Day with seriousness rather than perfunctory gestures. September 17 commemorates the document’s 1787 signing. Annual events marking this occasion could foster genuine engagement with founding principles rather than the usual campus fare of therapeutic programming and grievance ventilation.

Finally, conduct regular surveys assessing students’ civic knowledge. Measurement enables improvement. Periodic assessment would reveal whether institutional efforts succeed or require recalibration—and might embarrass universities into action when results prove humiliating.

These recommendations share a common virtue: They cost little and demand much. They require not money but the will to assert that civic literacy matters, that republics require informed citizens, and that universities bear responsibility for producing such citizens rather than merely credentialed careerists.

Alabama requires high-school students to pass a civics examination before graduation—a commendable policy. Yet this requirement becomes hollow if universities subsequently permit civic knowledge to atrophy through neglect. Failure to extend civic requirements to higher education is a peculiar abdication, suggesting that civic understanding matters for 18-year-olds but becomes dispensable for 22-year-olds.

As 2026 approaches, Alabama can remedy this deficit before the nation’s 250th anniversary. The question is whether our state’s political and academic leadership will seize it, or whether Alabama will continue trailing its conservative counterparts in an area where leadership should prove effortless. The answer will reveal much about whether Alabama’s professed reverence for constitutional principles extends beyond soaring rhetoric to actual education.