HF 2089 (LSB 5543HH (3) 89)

HOUSE FILE 2089

BY  WHEELER

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to civic education and social studies instruction in public schools, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 256.11, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4A.  Civic education shall be taught in kindergarten through grade twelve. Civic education shall include resources that provide examples of patriotism based on the first-person accounts of diverse individuals who demonstrate civic-minded qualities, including first-person accounts of individuals who are victims of nations governed by political ideologies that conflict with the political ideologies of the United States who can compare the political ideologies of the United States with the political ideologies of the nation that victimized the individual. Civic education shall assist students in developing all of the following:
   a.  An understanding of the students’ shared rights and responsibilities as residents of the state.
   b.  An understanding of the founding principles of the United States, including national sovereignty, natural law, self-evident truth, equality of all persons, limited government, popular sovereignty, and inalienable rights of life, liberty, and property.
   c.  A sense of civic pride and desire to participate regularly with government at the local, state, and federal levels.
   d.  An understanding of the process for effectively advocating before governmental bodies and officials.
   e.  An understanding of the civic-minded expectations of an upright and desirable citizenry that recognizes and accepts responsibility for preserving and defending the blessings of liberty inherited from prior generations and secured by the Constitution of the United States.
    Sec. 2.  Section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph b, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  Five units of the social studies including instruction in voting statutes and procedures, voter registration requirements, the use of paper ballots and voting systems in the election process, and the method of acquiring and casting an absentee ballot. All students shall complete a minimum of one-half unit of United States government and one unit of United States history. The one-half unit of United States government shall include the all of the following: 
   (1)  The voting procedure as described in this lettered paragraph and section 280.9A.  The government instruction shall also include a
   (2)  A study of the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution and an assessment of a student’s knowledge of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
   (3)  A comparative discussion of political ideologies, including communism and totalitarianism, that conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy that were essential to the founding of the United States.
    Sec. 3.  Section 256E.7, subsection 2, paragraph g, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   g.  Be subject to and comply with the requirements of section 256.7, subsection 21, and the educational standards of section 256.11, unless specifically waived by the state board during the application process; provided, however, that the state board shall not waive the educational standards established in section 256.11, subsection 4A.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to civic education and social studies instruction in public schools, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools.
   The bill requires the state board of education to adopt rules to implement new requirements in the educational standards established pursuant to Code section 256.11 that apply to all public schools and accredited nonpublic schools. The bill requires civic education to be taught in kindergarten through grade 12 in public schools, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools. The bill describes what civic education is to include and what civic education is to assist students in developing. The bill also requires that the one-half unit of United States government that is required to be taught in grades 9 through 12 in public schools and accredited nonpublic schools include a comparative discussion of political ideologies that conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy that were essential to the founding of the United States.