House
File
24
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
24
BY
J.
TAYLOR
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
providing
for
administration
of
a
civics
examination
1
by
school
districts
and
accredited
nonpublic
schools
as
a
2
condition
of
high
school
graduation.
3
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
4
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Section
1.
Section
256.9,
Code
2011,
is
amended
by
adding
1
the
following
new
subsection:
2
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
62.
Approve
alternative
civics
assessments
3
pursuant
to
section
280.9A,
subsection
1,
paragraph
“b”
.
4
Sec.
2.
Section
280.9A,
subsection
1,
Code
2011,
is
amended
5
to
read
as
follows:
6
1.
The
board
of
directors
of
each
local
public
school
7
district
and
the
authorities
in
charge
of
each
nonpublic
school
8
shall
require
that
all
students
in
grades
nine
through
twelve
9
successfully
complete
or
pass,
as
applicable
,
as
a
condition
of
10
graduation,
instruction
the
following:
11
a.
Instruction
in
American
history
and
the
governments
of
12
Iowa
and
the
United
States,
including
instruction
in
voting
13
statutes
and
procedures,
voter
registration
requirements,
14
the
use
of
paper
ballots
and
voting
systems
in
the
election
15
process,
and
the
method
of
acquiring
and
casting
an
absentee
16
ballot.
17
b.
A
civics
examination.
The
examination
shall
be
the
18
same
as,
and
shall
include
all
questions
used
in,
the
latest
19
available
civics
examination
administered
by
the
United
States
20
citizenship
and
immigration
services
office.
The
proctored
21
examination
shall
be
completed
without
ancillary
materials
and
22
only
students
who
score
a
proficiency
of
seventy-five
percent
23
or
higher
shall
be
considered
to
have
successfully
passed
the
24
examination.
Alternative
assessment
measures
approved
by
the
25
department
of
education
pursuant
to
section
256.9,
subsection
26
62,
may
be
administered
to
children
requiring
special
education
27
as
defined
in
section
256B.2,
subsection
1,
and
to
students
28
identified
as
limited
English
proficient
pursuant
to
section
29
280.4.
30
Sec.
3.
STATE
MANDATE
FUNDING
SPECIFIED.
In
accordance
31
with
section
25B.2,
subsection
3,
the
state
cost
of
requiring
32
compliance
with
any
state
mandate
included
in
this
Act
shall
33
be
paid
by
a
school
district
from
state
school
foundation
aid
34
received
by
the
school
district
under
section
257.16.
This
35
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specification
of
the
payment
of
the
state
cost
shall
be
deemed
1
to
meet
all
of
the
state
funding-related
requirements
of
2
section
25B.2,
subsection
3,
and
no
additional
state
funding
3
shall
be
necessary
for
the
full
implementation
of
this
Act
4
by
and
enforcement
of
this
Act
against
all
affected
school
5
districts.
6
EXPLANATION
7
This
bill
requires
students
enrolled
in
school
districts
8
and
accredited
nonpublic
schools
to
successfully
pass
as
9
a
condition
of
graduation
a
proctored
civics
examination
10
that
is
the
same
as
the
latest
available
civics
examination
11
administered
by
the
U.S.
citizenship
and
immigration
services
12
office.
Students
are
prohibited
from
using
ancillary
materials
13
during
the
examination
and
must
achieve
a
score
of
at
least
75
14
percent
to
successfully
pass
the
examination.
15
The
director
of
the
department
of
education
is
tasked
with
16
approving
alternative
assessment
measures
that
school
districts
17
and
accredited
nonpublic
schools
may
administer
to
children
18
requiring
special
education
and
to
English
language
learners.
19
This
bill
may
include
a
state
mandate
as
defined
in
Code
20
section
25B.3.
The
bill
requires
that
the
state
cost
of
21
any
state
mandate
included
in
the
bill
be
paid
by
a
school
22
district
from
state
school
foundation
aid
received
by
the
23
school
district
under
Code
section
257.16.
The
specification
24
is
deemed
to
constitute
state
compliance
with
any
state
mandate
25
funding-related
requirements
of
Code
section
25B.2.
The
26
inclusion
of
this
specification
is
intended
to
reinstate
the
27
requirement
of
political
subdivisions
to
comply
with
any
state
28
mandates
included
in
the
bill.
29
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