Freedom Week promotes more engaged citizens
American students are falling behind in their understanding of the nation’s founding principles that underpin our democracy.
According to a 2022 report card from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, just 22% of eighth-graders are considered proficient in civics; a figure that has remained largely unchanged for the past 25 years.
Embarrassingly, adults don’t fare much better.
A 2023 civics survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that only 5% of adults could correctly identify all five First Amendment rights: freedom of speech, religion, the press, the right to protest and the right to petition. Notably, 22% of respondents mistakenly believed the right to bear arms was included in the First Amendment.
Roughly 66% of those surveyed could name all three branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial) while 10% could name two and 7% could name only one.
“One is unlikely to cherish or work to protect freedoms one does not know one has and will have trouble holding elected and unelected leaders accountable if one does not understand the nature and prerogatives of each branch and the ways in which the power of each is kept in check,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and the survey’s lead researcher.
Montana is among a growing number of states working to reverse that trend. Last week, public schools across the state observed the inaugural Freedom Week.
The initiative stems from legislation introduced in the 2025 session by Billings Republican Rep. Greg Oblander. The law requires school districts to designate the last week in September as Freedom Week “to educate students about the sacrifices made for freedom in the founding of the United States and the values on which the United States was founded.”
Oblander’s original proposal was more heavy-handed, mandating at least three hours of instruction on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. and Montana constitutions for students in grades three through 12. It also would have required students to recite passages from the Declaration of Independence, with some exceptions.
After discussions with the Montana School Boards Association and the state Office of Public Instruction, an amended version of the law emerged that offers a flexible approach to exploring the founding documents while allowing teachers to craft lessons plans that fit their individual classroom methods.
At Flathead High School, teachers embraced the opportunity to lead meaningful conversations about freedom, civic responsibility and the nation’s founding ideals.
Teacher Cory Wilson’s Western civilization students read the Declaration of Independence, Kyla Niva’s students examined the Constitutional Convention and honored Vietnam veterans, while Kelli Rosenquist’s class studied the Gettysburg Address.
Flathead High students are already required to complete two and a half years of social studies, but Freedom Week created space for more reflective discussions about freedom and the importance of civic engagement.
When asked what freedom meant to them, students responded with encouraging insight.
“To be able to have your own life ... you get to choose your path ... get to grow up wherever you want,” offered Ryan Fleming.
“We get to choose who runs us, our country,” added Jakob Berry.
“Student civic engagement and having their voices heard is crucial for a thriving democracy and yields significant benefits for the students themselves,” said junior Nick Taylor.
If the goal of Freedom Week was to help Montana’s youth be better equipped for civic engagement as adults, consider Flathead High School off to a strong start.