WHAT IS THE BALANCE OF POWERS ANYWAY?

Since democracy requires an informed populace that understand how their government works as well as the issues of the day, civics is vitally important. It is apparent that standards cannot be set by the federal government, especially when there is an administration in power that requires an ignorant and scared population to rule. The cause of a solid civics education should be embraced by all parties as it is essential for a healthy democracy.

However, the individual States can take action. Yesterday the Washington State House of Representatives passed (83 to 15) House Bill 2579 which would school districts accountable for teaching the state's civics learning requirements by mandating they conduct classroom-based assessments at three grade levels. The bill has received broad bipartisan support and is supported by the Washington State Bar Association, the Board for Judicial Administration, Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, and the League of Women Voters of Washington. It now before the Senate where it is expected to pass.

The impetus for this was a survey conducted just earlier this month by Seattle-based Elway Research which found that only 55 percent of Washington's registered voters are able to correctly identify the meaning of "separation of powers." Twenty-one percent think it means that different federal departments have different powers; 11 percent don't know; and 10 percent believe it means that the federal government does some things, like set postage rates, while state governments have other powers, like setting speed limits on state highways.

When asked to identify a responsibility of the judicial branch of government in addition to determining whether a law violates the U.S. Constitution, Washington voters fare poorly — just 53 percent chose the correct response: "determine how existing law applies to the facts of a case." Twenty-three percent think the judiciary "advise the President and Congress about the legality of action they intend to take in the future."


And almost one-third (31 percent) of registered voters do not know what is meant by the term "independent judiciary." Eleven percent think it means that "judges are not Republicans or Democrats," and eight percent believe it means that "judges can make decisions based on what they personally believe." Eight percent do not know, and four percent believe it means that "judges can make or change laws from the bench." Since Washington judges are elected by the people, voters' understanding of the role of the judiciary is especially important.

Making this lack of understanding even more troubling is that a full three-quarters of the Washington voters surveyed have at least some college education, with 48 percent having graduated from college. Income levels were also high — 45 percent reported an annual income of $50,000 or more.

Among those whose formal education stopped at high-school graduation, just 58 percent can correctly identify the three branches of government; this compares dramatically to 82 percent of college graduates. Sixteen percent of high-school graduates believe the three branches are Republican, Democrat, and Independent. Less than half (49 percent) of high-school graduates know the meaning of "separation of powers." More than one-third (38 percent) believe that the judiciary advises the President. And less than two-thirds (62 percent) know the correct definition of "checks and balances." These results clearly indicate that the role of our public schools in civics education is especially critical for those whose formal education does not go beyond high school.

Since 1999, the Washington State Bar Association has administered the Council on Public Legal Education, which promotes public understanding of the law and civic rights and responsibilities by conducting, coordinating, encouraging, and publicizing public legal education efforts in our state. The WSBA supports the Council with a full-time staff person. And there's now a wonderful resource of legal information — a website (http://www.lawforwa.org/) that provides the people of Washington easy access to information on the law, the courts, the government, and civic rights and responsibilities.

President Brooke Taylor of the WSBA announced that "I am calling on lawyers and judges across the state to reach out to their communities and look for teaching opportunities — after all, lawyers and judges are natural teachers. Our system of government is precious, and I believe that it is the duty of those of us who are privileged to work in the system to make sure that it is fully understood and never taken for granted."