HSB 56 (LSB 1205YC (3) 91)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON COLLINS)

A BILL FOR

An Act establishing completion of a course on American history and civil government as a requirement for the completion of a baccalaureate degree program at a public institution of higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  SHORT TITLE.  This Act shall be known and may be cited as the “Increasing Civics Proficiency in Higher Education Act”.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  261K.1  Definitions.
   As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
   1.  “Basic principles of the United States’ republican form of government” means institutions and principles to preserve liberty and prevent misuse of government power, including balance of power; consent of the governed; the electoral college; federalism and the division of powers between the federal government and the states; individual liberties; rights of life, liberty, and property; popular sovereignty; religious freedom; an educated citizenry; representative government; civilian control of the military; rule of law; control of faction; checks and balances; and separation of powers among the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.
   2.  “Founding documents” means texts including the Mayflower compact; Common Sense, written by Thomas Paine; the Declaration of Independence; the Articles of Confederation; the Pennsylvania Act for the gradual abolition of slavery; the Virginia statute for religious freedom; the northwest ordinance; the Constitution of the United States; the federalist papers, including federalist number ten and federalist number fifty-one; a transcript of George Washington’s farewell address; relevant excerpts from Democracy in America written by Alexis de Tocqueville; a transcript of the first debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas; the Emancipation Proclamation; and the writings of the founding fathers of the United States.
   3.  “Historical development of the United States’ republican form of government” means events including the federalist and antifederalist debates; the rise and role of political parties; the rise of Jacksonian democracy; the expansion of the ideals and institutions of liberty and republican self-government to include all Americans, regardless of sex or race; the causes and the constitutional consequences of the Civil War; the thirteenth amendment, fourteenth amendment, fifteenth amendment, and the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States; the rise of the new deal administrative state; and United States supreme court cases, including Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Pembina consolidated silver mining co. v. Pennsylvania, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Brown v. Board of Education.
   4.  “Public institution of higher education” means either of the following:
   a.  An institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents.
   b.  A community college with respect to any baccalaureate degree program offered by the community college and to any student enrolled in such a program.
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  261K.2  American history and civil government course required.
   Beginning with the academic year commencing in 2027, a public institution of higher education shall establish as a requirement for the completion of any baccalaureate degree program that a student complete a survey course in American history and civil government as provided in this chapter.
    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  261K.3  Course content.
   1.  The course shall instruct students in subjects including but not limited to the following:
   a.  The study of and devotion to American institutions and ideals.
   b.  The basic principles of the United States’ republican form of government.
   c.  The historical development of the United States’ republican form of government.
   d.  Comparison of the United States’ republican form of government with different forms of government including dictatorship, monarchy, oligarchy, theocracy, communism, and autocracy.
   e.  An understanding of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Iowa.
   f.  Knowledge of the founding documents and how they have shaped the nature and functions of American institutions of self-governance.
   g.  An understanding of landmark cases of the United States supreme court and their effects on law and society.
   2.  The course shall require students to read documents including but not limited to the following:
   a.  The Constitution of the United States.
   b.  The Declaration of Independence.
   c.  The Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States.
   d.  The Emancipation Proclamation.
   e.  At least five essays from the federalist papers, as determined by the instructor.
   f.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham jail.
   g.  The Gettysburg Address.
    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  261K.4  Course credit and graduation requirements.
   1.  A public institution of higher education shall assign a value of at least three semester hours of credit or its equivalent to the course required by this chapter.
   2.  The course required by this chapter shall fulfill any general education requirement in the social sciences that a student is required to complete as a condition of graduation.
    Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  261K.5  Student transfers.
   If a student completes the course required by this chapter at a public institution of higher education and subsequently transfers to another such institution, the student shall not be required to complete the course again.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires a public institution of higher education to establish as a requirement for the completion of any baccalaureate degree program that a student complete a survey course in American history and civil government. The requirement begins with the academic year commencing in 2027. The bill provides minimum required subjects that must be taught and documents that students must read as part of the course.
   The bill defines a public institution of higher education as a regents institution or a community college with respect to any baccalaureate degree program offered by the community college and to any student enrolled in such a program.
   The bill provides that the course shall be assigned a value of three semester hours of credit and that the course shall fulfill any general education requirement in the social sciences that is a graduation requirement. The bill provides that a student shall not be required to complete the course again if transferring to another public institution of higher education.