H.F. _____ DIVISION I 1 SHORT TITLE 2 Section 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act shall be known and may be 3 cited as the “Increasing Civic Proficiency in Higher Education 4 Act”. 5 DIVISION II 6 REGENTS INSTITUTIONS —— GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS AND 7 CORE CURRICULA —— COURSES ON AMERICAN HISTORY AND AMERICAN 8 GOVERNMENT 9 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 262.100 General education requirements 10 and core curricula —— courses on American history and American 11 government. 12 1. The state board of regents shall require each institution 13 of higher education governed by the board to establish as 14 a requirement for the completion of any general education 15 requirements or core curricula that an undergraduate student 16 complete an introductory survey course in American history 17 and an introductory survey course in American government. An 18 institution shall assign a value of at least three semester 19 hours of credit to each course. A course required by this 20 section shall not be exclusively or primarily devoted to the 21 study of subgroups of Americans or other nationalities. 22 2. A course required by this section shall fulfill the 23 general education or core curriculum requirement for social 24 sciences or humanities, as designated by the institution, that 25 a student is required to complete as a condition of graduation. 26 3. An institution shall provide equivalent credit toward 27 the courses required by this section to a student transferring 28 to the institution for previous coursework completed by the 29 student that is substantially similar to a required course. 30 4. This section does not apply to a student completing a 31 degree program designated by an institution as a degree program 32 of three years or less in duration. 33 5. Annually, the center for intellectual freedom at the 34 state university of Iowa, the center for cyclone civics at the 35 -1- LSB 5245YC (4) 91 je/ns 1/ 5

H.F. _____ Iowa state university of science and technology, and the center 1 for civic education at the university of northern Iowa shall 2 designate courses at their respective institutions that satisfy 3 the requirements of this section. 4 Sec. 3. REVIEW OF GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS AND CORE 5 CURRICULA. No later than December 31, 2026, the board of 6 regents shall conduct a review of all undergraduate general 7 education requirements and core curricula at institutions of 8 higher education governed by the board. 9 Sec. 4. APPLICABILITY. The section of this Act enacting 10 section 262.100 applies to undergraduate students beginning 11 enrollment at institutions of higher education governed by the 12 board of regents in academic years beginning on or after July 13 1, 2028. 14 DIVISION III 15 CENTER FOR INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM —— COURSES 16 Sec. 5. Section 263C.3, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended 17 to read as follows: 18 5. The center shall offer at least one three-semester credit 19 hour course in American history and civil one three-semester 20 credit hour course in American government. If a regents 21 institution has established general education requirements 22 for undergraduate students that include an American heritage 23 history course requirement or an American government course 24 requirement , the center shall ensure that the course satisfies 25 that requirement courses satisfy those requirements . The 26 center shall coordinate with the center for cyclone civics 27 at Iowa state university and the center for civic education 28 at the university of northern Iowa to ensure that the course 29 is offered to students at each regents institution either in 30 person or online. 31 Sec. 6. APPLICABILITY. This division of this Act applies to 32 academic years beginning on or after July 1, 2027. 33 DIVISION IV 34 LECTURE AND DEBATE SERIES 35 -2- LSB 5245YC (4) 91 je/ns 2/ 5

H.F. _____ Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 262.105 Lecture and debate series. 1 By December 31, 2026, the center for intellectual freedom at 2 the state university of Iowa, the center for cyclone civics at 3 the Iowa state university of science and technology, and the 4 center for civic education at the university of northern Iowa 5 shall each establish an ongoing lecture and debate series. The 6 series must promote civil dialogue and debate on the issues 7 most important to the American republic. 8 DIVISION V 9 CENTERS —— ANNUAL REPORTS 10 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 266.8 Annual report —— center for 11 cyclone civics. 12 The director of the center for cyclone civics at the Iowa 13 state university of science and technology shall submit an 14 annual report to the governor, the general assembly, and the 15 state board of regents by December 31. The report must provide 16 a full account of the center’s achievements and must identify 17 any opportunities, challenges, and obstacles in the development 18 of the center. 19 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 268.6 Annual report —— center for 20 civic education. 21 The director of the center for civic education at the 22 university of northern Iowa shall submit an annual report 23 to the governor, the general assembly, and the state board 24 of regents by December 31. The report must provide a full 25 account of the center’s achievements and must identify any 26 opportunities, challenges, and obstacles in the development of 27 the center. 28 EXPLANATION 29 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 30 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 31 This bill relates to general education requirements, core 32 curricula, and other functions of regents institutions. 33 REGENTS INSTITUTIONS —— GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS AND 34 CORE CURRICULA —— COURSES ON AMERICAN HISTORY AND AMERICAN 35 -3- LSB 5245YC (4) 91 je/ns 3/ 5

H.F. _____ GOVERNMENT. This division provides that the state board of 1 regents (board) must require each institution to establish 2 as a requirement for the completion of any general education 3 requirements or core curricula that an undergraduate student 4 complete introductory survey courses in American history and 5 American government. The requirement applies to undergraduate 6 students beginning enrollment at institutions in academic years 7 beginning on or after July 1, 2028. An institution shall 8 assign a value of at least three semester hours of credit to 9 each course. A required course shall not be exclusively or 10 primarily devoted to the study of subgroups of Americans or 11 other nationalities. 12 A required course shall fulfill the general education or 13 core curriculum requirement for social sciences or humanities, 14 as designated by the institution, that a student is required to 15 complete as a condition of graduation. 16 The division requires an institution to provide equivalent 17 credit toward the required courses to a student transferring to 18 the institution for previous substantially similar coursework. 19 The division does not apply to a student completing a degree 20 program designated by an institution as a degree program of 21 three years or less in duration. 22 The division requires the center for intellectual freedom at 23 the university of Iowa, the center for cyclone civics at Iowa 24 state university, and the center for civic education at the 25 university of northern Iowa to annually designate courses at 26 their respective institutions that satisfy these requirements. 27 The division requires the board to conduct a review of all 28 undergraduate general education requirements and core curricula 29 at institutions no later than December 31, 2026. 30 CENTER FOR INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM —— COURSES. This division 31 requires the center for intellectual freedom at the university 32 of Iowa to offer at least one three-semester credit hour 33 course in American history and one three-semester credit 34 hour course in American government. Under current law, the 35 -4- LSB 5245YC (4) 91 je/ns 4/ 5

H.F. _____ center is required to offer at least one three-semester credit 1 hour course in American history and civil government. The 2 bill provides that if an institution has established general 3 education requirements for undergraduate students that 4 include an American history course requirement or an American 5 government course requirement, the center shall ensure that 6 the courses satisfy those requirements. The bill strikes a 7 requirement that the center coordinate with the center for 8 cyclone civics at Iowa state university and the center for 9 civic education at the university of northern Iowa to ensure 10 that such a course is offered to students at each institution 11 either in person or online. 12 The division applies to academic years beginning on or after 13 July 1, 2027. 14 LECTURE AND DEBATE SERIES. This division requires the 15 center for intellectual freedom at the university of Iowa, 16 the center for cyclone civics at Iowa state university, and 17 the center for civic education at the university of northern 18 Iowa to each establish an ongoing lecture and debate series by 19 December 31, 2026. The series must promote civil dialogue and 20 debate on the issues most important to the American republic. 21 CENTERS —— ANNUAL REPORTS. This division requires the 22 directors of the center for cyclone civics at Iowa state 23 university and the center for civic education at the university 24 of northern Iowa to each submit an annual report to the 25 governor, the general assembly, and the board of regents 26 by December 31. The report must provide a full account 27 of the respective center’s achievements and identify any 28 opportunities, challenges, and obstacles in the development of 29 the center. 30 -5- LSB 5245YC (4) 91 je/ns 5/ 5