Senate Study Bill 3073 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON EVANS) A BILL FOR An Act establishing a seal of civics excellence program 1 administered by the department of education to recognize 2 student excellence in civics. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5665XC (2) 91 mb/jh

S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 256.9, subsection 59, Code 2026, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 59. a. Develop and administer a seal of biliteracy program 3 to recognize students graduating from high school who have 4 demonstrated proficiency in two or more world languages, one of 5 which may be American sign language, though one of which must 6 be English. Participation in the program by a school district, 7 attendance center, or accredited nonpublic school shall 8 be voluntary. The department shall work with stakeholders 9 to identify standardized tests that may be utilized to 10 demonstrate proficiency. The department shall produce a seal 11 of biliteracy, which may include but need not be limited to 12 a sticker that may be affixed to a student’s high school 13 transcript or a certificate that may be awarded to the student. 14 A participating school district or school shall notify the 15 department of the names of the students who have qualified for 16 the seal and the department shall provide the school district 17 or school with the appropriate number of seals or other 18 authorized endorsement. The department may charge a nominal 19 fee to cover printing and postage charges related to issuance 20 of the biliteracy seal under this subsection paragraph . 21 b. Develop and administer a seal of civics excellence 22 program to recognize students graduating from high school who 23 have demonstrated proficiency in civics. The department shall 24 determine the minimum requirements necessary for a student 25 to obtain a civics seal, including knowledge of American 26 government and participation in civic and community activities. 27 The department shall produce a civics seal, which may include 28 a sticker to be affixed to a student’s high school transcript 29 or a certificate awarded to the student. A seal of civics 30 excellence must be affixed to the diploma and noted on the 31 transcript of a student to recognize that the student has 32 achieved excellence in civics. Participation in the program 33 by a school district or accredited nonpublic school shall be 34 voluntary. A participating school district or accredited 35 -1- LSB 5665XC (2) 91 mb/jh 1/ 2

S.F. _____ nonpublic school shall notify the department of the names of 1 students who have qualified for a seal, and the department 2 shall provide the school district or accredited nonpublic 3 school with the appropriate number of seals or other authorized 4 endorsement. The department may charge a nominal fee to cover 5 printing and postal charges related to the issuance of the 6 civics seal under this paragraph. 7 EXPLANATION 8 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 9 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 10 This bill establishes a seal of excellence program to 11 recognize students graduating from high school who have 12 demonstrated proficiency in civics. The bill directs the 13 department of education to develop and administer the program. 14 The department shall determine the minimum requirements 15 necessary for a student to obtain a civics seal, including 16 knowledge of American government and participation in civic 17 and community activities. The department must produce a civic 18 seal, which may include a sticker for a student’s transcript or 19 a certificate. A seal of civics excellence must be affixed to 20 the student’s diploma and noted on the student’s transcript. 21 The bill provides that participation in the program by a 22 school district or accredited nonpublic school is voluntary. A 23 participating school must notify the department of the names 24 of students who qualify for a seal, and the department must 25 provide the appropriate number of seals or other authorized 26 endorsement. The department may charge a nominal fee to cover 27 printing and posting charges related to issuance of the civics 28 seal. 29 -2- LSB 5665XC (2) 91 mb/jh 2/ 2