UPDATE: Lawmakers are considering ways to ensure more civics education in schools across the commonwealth after Kentucky received a C grade in the Civic Health Assessment Survey.
Currently, Kentucky students must pass a 100-question civics test from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before they can graduate. House Bill 535, introduced by Rep. Robert Duvall, would provide an alternative to testing by allowing school districts to choose between the test and civics credits for Kentucky high school students.
The bill, which passed the House 77-13 last week, makes some changes to committee representatives and changes the test score required to pass from 60 percent to 70 percent.
Course topics include, but are not limited to, an overview of American history; Roles of different levels of government. Important texts including the Kentucky Constitution and the United States Constitution. Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities. political parties and interest groups; campaign and elections. Domestic and foreign policy. comparison system. and international relations.
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ashley Watts testified in favor of the bill at a House committee meeting, and the Kentucky Chamber Foundation will host the National Civic Bee. , pointed out that the business community's involvement in civic education has increased in recent years. The National Civics Bee is a competition that brings together middle school students from around the state to show off their civics knowledge through an essay contest and test their civics knowledge at a live event.
“The Chamber is interested in civics because civics education has declined over the past few decades. And at the same time, we've also seen an increase in extreme political discourse. I don't think this is a coincidence.” Watts said. “We believe that civics education is an important part of the solution. Because that’s what we offer.”
Former Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton also praised the Citizens Chamber contest during his testimony in support of the bill, saying that at a time when misinformation is spreading at scale through social media and other means, citizens should He emphasized that the need for education is increasing. .
Minton said this bill would be a step in the right direction for Kentucky, noting that 39 other states require civics education as a year-long or semester-long course.
House Bill 535 passed unanimously at Thursday's Senate Education Committee meeting, but it did not gain consent as some members emphasized the importance of this public discussion of Kentucky's need to strengthen civics education. There wasn't. The bill now moves to the full Senate for floor consideration.
Stay tuned to The Bottom Line for more updates during the 2024 legislative session.
