Preparing young people for a lifetime of civic engagement by building skills in civil dialogue, information literacy, and critical reasoning.
“I am the person I am today because of the influence this class had on me. This class has helped me and so many others become informed on our future and it helped me make decisions on what I’d like our future to look like. ”
“This curriculum is one of the most exciting and motivating methods I have seen in my thirty years of teaching and
administration. ”
“With the Legislative Semester, we were not doing work for points or grades. We worked as hard as we did because we cared about the issues. The issues were deeper than grades; they were personal. ”
Did you experience the Legislative Semester as a high school student?
The Legislative Semester is a nonpartisan semester-long civics and government curriculum that focuses on developing key skills for civic engagement and participation. Daily discussion of current policy issues is at the center of the course, as students learn about the defining issues of our time and evaluate their own ideas and beliefs. Students identify and research issues that are meaningful in their own lives, write bills, and lobby their peers. They learn to consider multiple perspectives, hold each other accountable for using credible sources, and work to compromise, persuade, or build consensus about their proposals. The program has a strong emphasis on using civil discourse to ensure that every voice is heard. Research has demonstrated that students become more interested in current issues, more open-minded, and gain both skills and confidence to participate civic life.
Over 40,000 students at 17 schools have participated in the Legislative Semester over the course of three decades. Use our map to find a school near you.
Access free curriculum resources to support students in exploring controversial issues using civil discourse.
In the News
The Legislative Semester was profiled in a front page article on civics education in the Madison paper, The Capital Times. Read this coverage and more on our media page.
Get a feeling for the Legislative Semester…
Videos and interviews courtesy of WisconsinEye www.WisEye.org
Teachers from Middleton High School talk about how they engage students in the simulation from day one.
Watch the Full Session deliberation on a bill to require Mandatory National Service.
On using parliamentary procedure and the importance of civil discourse.
Middleton graduate Lucas Kostecki created a summary of the Legislative Semester for his final project as the official videographer.