The state of civic education and civic engagement in the United States has significant room for improvement.

A study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that only one in four Americans were able to name the four branches of government. Further, a 2019 study noted that only 17 % of people trust government officials in Washington D.C. to do the right thing. Civic education for young people typically takes place in the form of a social studies course a youth takes during secondary education. There is a large discrepancy among the states on how much civics education is required, with some states not offering civics courses at all. Nine states and the District of Columbia require one full academic year of civics education. Thirty-one states require half of a year and ten states do not require civics education courses at all. The curriculum of these courses tend to focus on rote memorization of knowledge about the Constitution and Bill of Rights and how the U.S. government functions. There could be more opportunity for the curriculum to focus more directly on youth engagement in local political issues. To fill the gap that exists in schools for civics education, there are non-profits throughout the country that work to train teachers and create curriculum to strengthen civics education.

At the national level, two non-profits that have had a large influence in this space are Generation Citizen and Learning for Justice.