State Seal of Civic Engagement

Overview

In October 2017, then-Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 24 into law. The law required the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI), on or before January 1, 2020, to recommend to the SBE criteria for awarding a SSCE to pupils attending public school who have demonstrated excellence in civics education and participation and an understanding of the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, and the democratic system of government. The law also required the SSPI to consider, among other criteria, the successful completion of history, government, and civics courses, including courses that incorporate character education and voluntary participation in community service or extracurricular activities.

A hallmark of the SSCE is its accessibility to all students, regardless of their backgrounds, communities, and experiences. This includes taking into consideration how local educational agencies (LEAs) can support California’s most underserved students in earning the seal in ways that may not always mirror traditional student paths to civic engagement and learning. As civic engagement may look different from community to community, the California Department of Education (CDE) encourages LEAs to work with local and statewide organizations to develop local criteria and to design and implement impactful civic engagement programs and pathways that reflect community interests, needs, and resources.

The CDE is deeply thankful to the following organizational partners that helped to develop the SSCE criteria. These organizations are also gathering resources to support local implementation efforts:

• Authentic Preparation Today (APT) Work Group
• California Courts Civic Learning Initiative
• California History-Social Science Project
• Civic Engagement Research Group
• Content, Literacy, Inquiry, and Citizenship Project
• Leveraging Equity and Access in Democratic Education

The CDE especially thanks the APT Work Group, which designed and contributed the image used for the SSCE insignia.

Data

Participating Local Educational Agencies

The below spreadsheets include participating local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools for each school year that the SSCE has been available. Each tab on the Excel spreadsheets represents a different participating county.

Additional reports will be added to this list annually, as they become available.

2024–25 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)

2023–24 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)

2022–23 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)

2021–22 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)

2020–21 List of Participating LEAs (XLSX)

State Seal of Civic Engagement Data Collection Project

At the July 2019 SBE meeting, the SBE requested that the California Department of Education (CDE) consider the possibility of formally recognizing civic engagement by incorporating SSCE into the California Dashboard as a College/Career Indicator (CCI).

The CDE determined that the criteria would need to be revised significantly to provide standardization measures that are valid, reliable, and fair; a requirement of the California Dashboard. This could reduce the number of students who would have the opportunity to earn the SSCE.

In August 2019, the CDE communicated this to the SBE in an Information Memorandum, titled "Considerations for Including the SSCE in the College and Career Indicator" (DOCX). The CDE recommended that the SBE adopt the proposed criteria to use for awarding a SSCE to ensure that as many students as possible have the opportunity to earn the SSCE as soon as possible, as required by statute. The CDE further recommended that the SBE consider exploring other ways to incorporate civic engagement into the CCI in the future.

To support this work, the CDE convened a Civic Engagement Work Group (CEWG) in August, October, and December 2020. CEWG work was paused following the December 2020 meeting, due to the re-architecture of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). The CEWG reconvened periodically in 2021 and 2022 to share updates.

During the 2023–24 school year, the CALPADS Operations Office developed and administered a new Education Data Collection System (EDCS) to test collection of student-level data on the SSCE. During the summer 2024 and 2025, LEAs that requested insignias for the 2023–24 and 2024–25 school years submitted student SSCE data to the EDCS.

The below timeline outlines key steps in the process of formally recognizing civic engagement in the CCI.

Additional information and guidance related to this process is available from the CDE CALPADS office:

2023–24 School Year:

• Update #268 (March 15, 2024): Background and general information, steps to prepare for SSCE data submission.
• Update # 271 (May 9, 2024): Accessing and submitting data to the 2023–24 EDCS.

2024–25 School Year:

• Update #301 (May 6, 2025): Accessing and submitting data to the 2024–25 EDCS.

Additional background information, SBE Agenda Items, and Informational Memoranda related to this project are available from the SBE Items Related to the SSCE web page.

State Seal of Civic Engagement Criteria

The five criteria presented below are meant to provide local educational agencies (LEAs) with a framework for making determinations of student qualifications required to earn the SSCE, based on their own local contexts. The criteria are written to ensure that no student is excluded from an opportunity to earn the SSCE based on academic ability, alternative school settings, or unique or unconventional expressions of civic engagement.

The student must:

1. Be engaged in academic work in a productive way;
2. Demonstrate a competent understanding of United States and California constitutions; functions and governance of local governments; tribal government structures and organizations; the role of the citizen in a constitutional democracy; and democratic principles, concepts, and processes;
3. Participate in one or more informed civic engagement project(s) that address real-world problems and require students to identify and inquire into civic needs or problems, consider varied responses, take action, and reflect on efforts;
4. Demonstrate civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions through self-reflection; and
5. Exhibit character traits that reflect civic-mindedness and a commitment to positively impact the classroom, school, community and/or society.

The SBE Items Related to the SSCE web page provides an archive of SBE Agenda Items and Informational Memoranda related to the statewide SSCE criteria.

State Seal of Civic Engagement Criteria Development Timeline

State Seal of Civic Engagement Implementation Guidance

Pursuant to California Education Code sections 51470–51474 , the California Department of Education (CDE) is responsible for developing and publishing criteria for students to earn the SSCE, and also for overseeing the process for developing and disseminating the insignia to LEAs. In addition to ongoing updates to its web pages, the CDE will provide additional guidance to LEAs through technical assistance webinars. These will include an overview of the SSCE, implementation supports, and guidance for ordering the insignia. When ordering insignias, districts will self-certify that students earned the SSCE based on locally-created criteria.

The SSCE Implementation Guidance for each criterion offers ideas and considerations to structure local requirements to award the SSCE, using the criteria set forward by the CDE as a foundation. Each LEA should develop local requirements, procedures, and optional local criteria considering its own local context to ensure maximum accessibility for all students, at all grade levels, including those in alternative school settings. Local governing boards are encouraged to approve or adopt their own policies regarding implementation of the SSCE criteria.

Implementation Resources

New to the SSCE, and wondering how to bring it to your local educational agency (LEA)? Start here! Check out the 2024 SSCE Technical Assistance (TA) Webinar (PPTX) presentation. This slide deck provides an overview of the SSCE and extended guidance for LEAs developing local SSCE programs. LEAs may also wish to use these slides for local presentations on developing an SSCE program.

SSCE TA Webinar Recording (Video; 1:24:53)

How to Participate

Each LEA should develop local requirements, procedures, and optional local criteria considering its own local context. Local governing boards are encouraged to approve or adopt their own policies regarding implementation of the SSCE criteria.

When submitting insignia requests, LEAs self-certify that each student has met all local requirements, procedures, and criteria, in addition to fulfilling all five statewide SSCE criteria. Education Code (EC) Section 51473 further requires that participating LEAs:

1. Maintain appropriate records in order to identify pupils who have earned a SSCE.
2. Affix the appropriate insignia to the diploma or transcript of each pupil who earns a SSCE.

Insignias may be requested using the form available from the “Insignia Requests” tab.

If an LEA does not yet offer the SSCE, this web page can be shared with a counselor, teacher, or administrator for information on how to get started. Please note that the SSCE is an optional program, and participation is voluntary.

Please review the below resources for additional information and guidance on implementing the SSCE locally.

Frequently Asked Questions
Responses to the most frequently asked questions about the SSCE.

Local Programming (PPTX)
Suggestions for LEAs beginning to implement the SSCE locally.

Getting Started with the SSCE (PPTX)
Overview and extended guidance for LEAs developing SSCE programs. LEAs may also wish to use these slides for local presentations on developing an SSCE program.

California Serves Program

The 2022 California State Budget established the California Serves Program (California EC Section 51475 ). The California Serves Program promotes access to effective service-learning for students in grade twelve, with the goal of expanding access for high school graduates in obtaining a SSCE through service-learning. Additional information on the California Serves program, including the California Serves annual grant, service-learning recommendations, and model uniform metrics is available from the California Serves web page.

Resources to Support General Student Civic Engagement

Guidance and resources for student civic engagement are available on the California Department of Education Resources to Support Student Civic Engagement web page.

External Websites Dedicated to State Seal of Civic Engagement Implementation

The websites listed below have been developed by organizations that are supporting LEAs implementing the SSCE.

• Civic Engagement Research Group Educating 4 Democracy
• Civic Seal
• Teach Democracy SSCE Resources
• Content, Literacy, Inquiry, and Citizenship Project SSCE Resources
• Los Angeles County of Education (LACOE) SSCE Collaborative , including online modules to support criterion 2 (PDF)
• Monterey County Office of Education SSCE Implementation and the SSCE Padlet
• National Council for the Social Studies Civic Seal Toolkit
• Orange County Department of Education Civic Learning Resources
• Region 6 Civic Engagement and the Region 6 SSCE Toolkit
• Riverside Unified School District Civics
• Sacramento City Unified School District SSCE
• Santa Clara County Office of Education SSCE
• Tulare Joint Union High School District Civic Engagement

Statewide Civics Recognition Opportunities

Many LEAs that offer the SSCE also participate in other statewide civics recognition opportunities.

• Power of Democracy Civic Learning Initiative’s Civic Learning Awards
• LACOE’s California Democracy School Project

Request State Seal of Civic Engagement Insignias

2025–26 SSCE Insignia Request
Local educational agencies (LEAs) seeking insignias for the 2025–26 school year should use this link. LEAs may also use this form to request additional insignias or make corrections to 2025–26 insignia requests. Please submit insignia requests at least four weeks before insignias are required.

State Seal of Civic Engagement Insignia Request Instructions

2025–26 SSCE Announcement Letter
General information and guidance regarding the 2025–26 insignia request process and related data collection.

SSCE Technical Assistance Webinar Recording (Video; 1:24:53)
This webinar and accompanying SSCE Technical Assistance webinar slide deck (PPTX) include guidance on submitting insignia requests.

Additional information related to local SSCE implementation is available from the “Implementation Resources” tab.