Senate Amendment to House File 2545 H-8334 Amend House File 2545, as amended, passed, and reprinted by 1 the House, as follows: 2 1. By striking everything after the enacting clause and 3 inserting: 4 < DIVISION I 5 STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION —— COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF EDUCATIONAL 6 STANDARDS 7 Section 1. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION —— COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW 8 OF IOWA EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS —— RECOMMENDED REVISIONS. 9 1. The director of the department of education shall 10 conduct a comprehensive review of the high school graduation 11 requirements and core curriculum established pursuant to 12 section 256.7, subsection 26, the core content standards 13 established pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 28, and 14 the educational standards established in section 256.11. 15 The comprehensive review shall be designed to generate 16 recommendations for policy changes to be included in the 17 reports required under subsection 4. The recommendations for 18 policy changes shall include all of the following: 19 a. A plan to regularly review and revise the core content 20 standards focused on English language arts, mathematics, 21 science, and social studies, with a focus on United States 22 history, western civilization, and civics. 23 b. A plan to make Iowa’s educational standards the best in 24 the nation. 25 c. Input from relevant stakeholders, including parents and 26 teachers. 27 d. A plan to increase the quality of the instructional 28 curriculum. 29 e. A plan to maximize local flexibility in graduation 30 requirements and course offerings while maintaining a goal that 31 all high school graduates have necessary skills at graduation. 32 f. Identification of opportunities to equip high school 33 graduates with sufficient knowledge of civics and United States 34 history, including the principles reflected in the Constitution 35 -1- HF 2545.4284.S (1) 90 mb 1/ 7 #1.

of the United States, so that high school graduates are capable 1 of discharging the responsibilities associated with United 2 States citizenship. 3 g. A statewide literacy plan to increase student 4 proficiency using systematic and sequential approaches to 5 teaching phonetic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, 6 and text comprehension. The statewide literacy plan shall 7 address standards for practitioner preparation programs 8 established under section 256.16 that promote evidence-based 9 reading instruction and practical application that are 10 direct, systematic, explicit, responsive, and that consist of 11 phonetic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text 12 comprehension. Such standards shall not include instruction or 13 practical application that is designed to teach students using 14 the instructional model commonly known as the three-cueing 15 system. 16 2. The director of the department of education shall ensure 17 that the core curriculum established pursuant to section 256.7, 18 subsection 26, the core content standards established pursuant 19 to section 256.7, subsection 28, and the educational standards 20 established in section 256.11, comply with section 279.74. 21 3. The comprehensive review described in subsection 1 shall 22 include all of the following: 23 a. Providing the opportunity for the public and interested 24 stakeholders to provide comments related to the comprehensive 25 review, including comments related to each graduation 26 requirement, core content standard, and educational requirement 27 by grade level, at each committee meeting convened pursuant to 28 this subsection. 29 b. Collecting and considering the comments provided 30 pursuant to paragraph “a”. 31 c. (1) Convening committees to assist in the comprehensive 32 review and provide recommendations related to the subject areas 33 in the educational standards established in section 256.11. 34 (2) The director of the department of education shall 35 -2- HF 2545.4284.S (1) 90 mb 2/ 7

determine the membership of each committee; provided, however, 1 that each committee shall include four members of the general 2 assembly with one member designated by each of the following: 3 the president of the senate, the minority leader of the senate, 4 the speaker of the house of representatives, and the minority 5 leader of the house of representatives. A legislative member 6 serves in an ex officio, nonvoting capacity. 7 4. a. The director of the department of education shall 8 submit an initial report, including initial findings and 9 recommendations for policy changes, to the governor and the 10 general assembly on or before December 31, 2024. 11 b. The director of the department of education shall submit 12 a final report, including findings and recommendations for 13 policy changes, to the governor and the general assembly on or 14 before July 1, 2025. 15 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act, being 16 deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment. 17 DIVISION II 18 STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION —— CORE CURRICULUM 19 Sec. 3. Section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph a, 20 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as 21 follows: 22 Adopt rules that establish a core curriculum and adopt rules 23 that establish high school graduation requirements for all 24 students in school districts and accredited nonpublic schools 25 that include at a minimum satisfactory completion of four years 26 of English and language arts, three years of mathematics, three 27 years of science, and three years of social studies. 28 Sec. 4. Section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph a, 29 subparagraph (3), Code 2024, is amended to read as follows: 30 (3) The rules establishing a core curriculum shall address 31 the core content standards in subsection 28 and the skills and 32 knowledge students need to be successful in the twenty-first 33 century. The core curriculum shall include social studies 34 and twenty-first century learning skills which include but 35 -3- HF 2545.4284.S (1) 90 mb 3/ 7

are not limited to civic literacy, health literacy, financial 1 literacy, family life and consumer sciences, and employability 2 skills; and shall address the curricular needs of students in 3 kindergarten through grade twelve in those areas. The state 4 board shall further define the twenty-first century learning 5 skills components by rule . 6 Sec. 5. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION —— RULES ESTABLISHING A 7 CORE CURRICULUM. Rules adopted by the state board of education 8 on or before the effective date of this division of this 9 Act relating to the core curriculum shall remain effective 10 until modified or rescinded by action of the state board of 11 education. 12 DIVISION III 13 STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION —— SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS 14 Sec. 6. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION —— REVIEW AND REVISION OF 15 SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS. 16 1. The state board of education shall complete a review 17 and revision of the state social studies standards contained 18 in the core content standards established pursuant to section 19 256.7, subsection 28, with a focus on United States history, 20 government, founding philosophies and principles, important 21 historical figures, western civilization, and civics. At a 22 minimum, the revised social studies standards shall include 23 instruction related to all of the following topics in grade 24 one through grade twelve, in such a manner that is both 25 relevant and appropriate for the age of the student receiving 26 instruction: 27 a. The United States federal and republican form of 28 government, including the branches and structure of the 29 United States federal government, the division of power 30 between branches of government and between federal and state 31 governments, a comparison to alternative forms of government, 32 and the crimes against humanity that have occurred under 33 communist regimes since 1917. 34 b. The rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United 35 -4- HF 2545.4284.S (1) 90 mb 4/ 7

States and the state of Iowa, including civic virtues displayed 1 in the lives of exemplary Americans. 2 c. The history of the United States and the state of Iowa, 3 including all of the following: 4 (1) The political, diplomatic, and military history of the 5 United States, including exemplary Americans important to such 6 events, beginning with the discovery of the western hemisphere 7 through the present, including but not limited to the founding 8 fathers, the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the 9 Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, the 10 Korean War, and the War on Terrorism, including the attacks on 11 September 11, 2001. 12 (2) The founding of Iowa, and famous Iowans and their 13 involvement in important events in history. 14 (3) The secular and religious ideals and institutions of 15 liberty, including political, religious, economic, social, and 16 cultural liberty, in western civilization, the United States, 17 and the state of Iowa. 18 d. Exemplary figures and important events in western 19 civilization, the United States, and the state of Iowa, 20 including but not limited to the history of ancient Israel, the 21 free Greek city-states, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, 22 medieval Europe, Columbus and the Age of Discovery, World War 23 I, World War II and instruction related to the Holocaust, and 24 the Cold War. 25 e. Important historical and founding documents to the 26 United States and the state of Iowa, including but not limited 27 to the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, 28 the Constitution of the United States and the amendments to 29 the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and the Emancipation 30 Proclamation. 31 2. The director of the department of education, or the 32 director’s designee, shall present the revised social studies 33 standards to the state board of education for adoption on or 34 before December 31, 2025. 35 -5- HF 2545.4284.S (1) 90 mb 5/ 7

DIVISION IV 1 EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS FOR GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 2 Sec. 7. Section 256.11, subsection 4, Code 2024, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 4. The following shall be taught in grades seven and 5 eight: English-language arts; social studies , including 6 instruction related to civics ; mathematics; science; 7 health; age-appropriate and research-based human growth and 8 development; career exploration and development; physical 9 education; music; and visual art. Computer science instruction 10 incorporating the standards established under section 256.7, 11 subsection 26 , paragraph “a” , subparagraph (4), shall be 12 offered in at least one grade level commencing with the 13 school year beginning July 1, 2023. Career exploration 14 and development shall be designed so that students are 15 appropriately prepared to create an individual career 16 and academic plan pursuant to section 279.61 , incorporate 17 foundational career and technical education concepts aligned 18 with the six career and technical education service areas as 19 defined in subsection 5 , paragraph “h” , incorporate relevant 20 twenty-first century skills to facilitate career readiness, 21 and introduce students to career opportunities within the 22 local community and across this state. The health curriculum 23 shall include age-appropriate and research-based information 24 regarding the characteristics of sexually transmitted diseases. 25 The state board as part of accreditation standards shall adopt 26 curriculum definitions for implementing the program in grades 27 seven and eight. However, this subsection shall not apply to 28 the teaching of career exploration and development in nonpublic 29 schools. > 30 2. Title page, by striking lines 1 through 5 and inserting 31 < An Act relating to education, including by requiring the 32 director of the department of education to review the state’s 33 high school graduation requirements, core curriculum, core 34 content standards, and educational standards, requiring the 35 -6- HF 2545.4284.S (1) 90 mb 6/ 7