This story was originally published by Public News Service.
By Joe Ulery, producer
Public News Service
April 14, 2026
Early voting is now underway across Indiana but a retired educator said many Hoosiers head to the polls without a full understanding of how government works.
The current situation is unsurprising to some who spend time with students in classrooms.
Bobbi Fisher, a retired civics teacher, said the problem starts in the schools, where civic education often takes a back seat. She noted many students simply are not taught enough about how to participate in democracy.
“One reason Americans often lack even basic knowledge, confidence or conversational know-how in civics and politics is simply that they weren’t taught much about how their government works in their school career,” Fisher explained.
Supporters of current education priorities argued schools must focus on tested subjects like math and reading. But critics countered it leaves civic understanding behind at a time when participation matters most.
Fisher pointed to a major funding gap as part of the issue. She observed schools invest heavily in science and math but very little in civics education.
“As evidenced by annual federal-level expenditures for STEM education, averaging about $50 per K-12 public school student and by contrast, funding for civic education is about 50 cents per student.”
Fisher stressed the imbalance shows up in the numbers. Only a small share of students reach proficiency in civics and many young Hoosiers say they do not feel prepared to vote or engage. She emphasized stronger, earlier civics education could help change it, especially as Indiana voters make decisions now during early voting.
Public News Service is a national newswire with a local focus. Through a network of state-based newswires, PNS reports state-level, public interest news and seeks to help the average American answer the question, “how does this news impact me today?”
