Oklahoma Students Test Civic Knowledge In State Civics Bee

There's a growing push across the country to increase civics education for the nation's high schoolers and part of that includes Oklahoma's Civics Bee organized by the State Chamber. Inspired by the format of traditional spelling bees, the Civics Bee focuses on educating students about government functions and the legislative process.

The competition, held in partnership with the U.S. Chamber, allows middle schoolers from across Oklahoma to participate in local qualifiers, with winners advancing to the state finals where they can win $1,000.

“We really want to make a push with specifically middle schoolers, to get them up to speed with civics, how government works, the processes that bills become law, so that they can get involved at some point,” said Brent Skarky, spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Chamber.

This year’s qualifiers will be held in Bixby, Broken Arrow, Lawton, Moore, Mustang, and Stillwater.