50 Stepping Up Activities

For Students Wanting to Get Behind a Cause and/or Engage in a Civic Action Project.

A Civic Action Project is an opportunity for high school students, in groups of 3–5, to spend a semester or more working to encourage the government (federal, state, or local) to solve a real world problem. Over the years, students throughout the country have worked on hundreds of different Civic Action Projects. Below are 50 of the best.

1. Police Body-Mounted Cameras: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to make a law requiring all on-duty police officers to wear fully functioning body mounted cameras.
2. Dress Code Humiliations: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to make a law that prohibits K-12 public school teachers, staff and administrators from publically humiliating students who violate a school’s dress code policy.
3. Bluefin Tuna Ban: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to make a law that would ban Pacific Bluefin Tuna recreational and commercial fishing.
4. Balanced Budget: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would require the federal government to balance the budget on an annual basis?
5. Flag Burning: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would prohibit the burning or desecration of the American flag?
6. US Supreme Court Justice Tenure: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would limit the number of years a US Supreme Court Justice can serve.
7. Same-Sex Marriage: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would prohibit same-sex marriage?
8. Electoral College: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would get rid of the Electoral College and thereby have the people, by popular vote, decide who shall be president.
9. Race-Based College Admission: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the US Constitution that would ban the use of race as a factor for the purpose of undergraduate and graduate college admissions.
10. Birthright: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the US Constitution that would read as follows: “Those born in the United States from non-US citizen parents no longer gain immediate citizenship through birth in the United States unless the parents are citizens or live here for 2 years following the birth of their child.”
11. Amendment Process: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would make it easier to amend the constitution.
12. Repeal Citizens United: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would repeal Citizens United.
13. Free and Adequate College Education: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would provide all children living in the US and who are citizens with a free and adequate college education.
14. Presidential Citizenship Requirement: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow non-natural born citizens to become President if they have been a citizen for 20 years.
15. Congressional Age Requirement: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would lower the age restriction on Representatives and Senators from 30 and 25 respectively to 21.
16. English as the Official Language: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would declare English the official language of the United States.
17. Voting Age Requirement: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would repeal the 26th Amendment (granting the vote to 18-year olds) and in its place grant the right to vote to 16-year olds.
18. Deficit Spending Referendum: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that Force a national referendum for any deficit spending.
19. 2nd Amendment Language Change: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the US Constitution that would require the language of the 2nd amendment to the U.S. Constitution to read as follows: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms when serving in the Militia shall not be infringed.”
20. Congressional Term Limits: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would place limits on the number of years that a member of the US Senate or US House of Representative can serve in the Congress?
21. Presidential Term: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would limit the president to one six-year term?
22. The Meaning of the Word “Life”: Students seek to encourage federal lawmakers to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would say that life begins at conception and that the 5th and 14th amendments apply to unborn children.
23. Animals in Captivity: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to make a law that prohibits the creation of any/all additional zoos, marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks.
24. Age Restrictions on Assault Weapons: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to make a law that prohibits the firing of a fully automatic assault weapons by anyone under the age of 18.
25. Student School Board Voting Qualifications: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to pass a resolution that would encourage local school boards statewide to permit their student school board representative the ability to vote on five specific issues.
26. School Start Times: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to create a law that prohibits any public school, K-12, from starting any earlier than 9:00 AM.
27. Dash Cam for Minors: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to create a law that prohibits drivers under the age of 18 from driving any motor vehicle that does not possess a fully functioning dash cam
28. Highway Speed Enforcement: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to create a law that would require the California Highway Patrol to use ever better methods of modern technology to enforce the speed limit on California highways between the hours of 3:00 and 10:00 pm.
29. Ticket Quota Ban: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to make a law that would prohibit a police officer from being required to issue a predetermined or specified number of citations for violations of the California Motor Vehicle Code.
30. New High School Social Studies Class: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to make a law that would call for the creation of a new 9th/10th-grade class, the class to be entitled State and Local Government, with Unit I of the class to be entitled Youth and the Police.
31. AP Class Limit: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to make a law that would limit the number of AP’s classes that a student can take at the high school level along with the number of AP test scores that can appear on a student’s high school transcript.
32. Civic Test Graduation Requirement: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to make a law that would require students to pass a civics test in order to graduate from high school.
33. Elimination of Sexist Language in State Publications: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to make a law that would strip any/all state publications of sexist language.
34. Physician Assisted Suicide Option for Those on Death Row: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to make a law that would allow the option of physician-assisted suicide for recipients of the death penalty/life sentence in prison.
35. Bicycle Expense Tax Deduction: Students seek to encourage state lawmakers to make a law that would make any bicycle expenses tax-deductible, as long as the bike is used for commutes to work.
36. Hobby Drones: Students seek to encourage city lawmakers to pass an ordinance limiting (or prohibiting) the use of hobby drones over city limits unless for a commercial filming purpose.
37. Parklet: Students seek to encourage city lawmakers to make a law that would call for the creation of a parklet within the city limits.
38. Voting Age Requirement: Students seek to encourage city lawmakers to make a law that lowers the voting age for city elections to 16.
39. City Park Wifi: Students seek to encourage city lawmakers to make a law that would allow for the implementation of a free public wireless network system in one or more city parks.
40. Off Leash Dog Area: Students seek to encourage city lawmakers to make a law that would call for the creation of an off-leash dog area within the city limits.
41. Annual Charity Bike Ride: Students seek to encourage city lawmakers to make a law that would call for the establishment of an annual charity bike ride within the city limits.
42. Bike Lane: Students seek to encourage city lawmakers to make a law that would call for the establishment of a bike lane of five miles of more that runs within the city limits.
43. Crosswalk Art: Students seek to encourage city lawmakers to make a law that would call for the creation of crosswalk art to appear on at least one major crosswalk within the city.
44. Block Scheduling: Students seek to encourage school officials to create a policy that would bring about block scheduling of some sort.
45. AP Capstone: Students seek to encourage school officials to create a policy that would provide 10th graders with an opportunity to begin work on the AP Capstone Project.
46. K-12 Printing Requirement: Students seek to encourage school officials to create a policy that would prohibit teachers from requiring students to print materials such as homework, essays, projects, and class work for a grade.
47. Student Uniforms: Students seek to encourage school officials to require students to wear a school uniform.
48. Civic Learning Resolution: Students seek to encourage school officials to pass a resolution that would call for all teachers to promote and encourage civic learning K-12.
49. Teacher Dress Code: Students seek to encourage school officials to create a policy that would require all teachers to dress professionally.
50. Holiday Homework: Students seek to encourage school officials to create a policy that would prohibit teachers from assigning homework prior to a national holiday and then making that homework due after the national holiday.

When working on a Civic Action Project, students are expected to engage in “civic action.”

Civic action can include any one or more of the following

• Conduct Community Research
• Create a Social Media Campaign
• Conduct an Email Interview
• Conduct a Face-to-Face Interview
• Engage in a Brainstorming Session
• Conduct Internet Research
• Engage in a Lobbying Effort
• Conduct Library Research
• Conduct Opinion Poll/Survey
• Meet with a Government Official
• Conduct a Phone Interview
• Create a Petition
• Engage in a Video Conference
• Create a Public Service Announcement (PSA)
• Write a Thank You Letter

Created by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, CAP works best in the 12th grade US Government course.