Assigned to ED & APPROP AS
PASSED BY COMMITTEE
Assigned to ED & APPROP AS
PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Third Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
schools; American civics education
Purpose
Establishes the American Civics Education Pilot Program (Program) and appropriates $500,000 from the state General Fund (GF) in FY 2020 for this purpose.
Background
The State Board of Education (SBE) establishes 22 credits as the minimum number of credits necessary for high school graduation. Three credits of social studies are required for graduation and must be divided as follows: 1) one credit of American history, including Arizona history; 2) one credit of world history or geography; 3) one-half credit of American government, including Arizona government; and 4) one-half credit of economics (A.A.C. R7-2-302). Students are also required to receive at least a 60 percent on a test that is identical to the civics portion of the naturalization test issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in order to graduate from high school (A.R.S. § 15-701.01).
S.B. 1444 appropriates $500,000 from the state GF in FY 2020, to the American Civics Education Fund (Fund).
Provisions
1. Requires American civics education to be included in high school social studies standards prescribed by the SBE.
2. Requires the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to develop a five-year pilot program to enhance the focus on American civics education in grades 9 through 12 beginning in the 2019‑2020 school year.
3. Requires ADE to develop application procedures and selection criteria for school districts, district schools and charter schools that voluntarily decide to participate in the Program for five consecutive years.
4. Requires the number of school districts and schools selected to participate in the Program to proportionally reflect the number of school districts and schools in Arizona.
5. Allows school districts to apply to participate in the Program for one school, multiple schools or the entire district.
6. Requires the SBE to approve each school and school district selected by ADE to participate in the Program.
7. Requires ADE and the SBE to:
a) consider the extent that a school district or school currently provides American civics education for high school students; and
b) prioritize school districts and schools that provide fewer hours.
8. Requires the SBE to:
a) submit a request for proposals to assessment providers for an American civics education assessment determined to be more rigorous than the test that is identical to the civics portion of the naturalization test;
b) establish the application procedures and selection criteria for assessment providers;
c) select and award a contract to one assessment provider to deliver the American civics education assessment; and
d) determine the cut score on the assessment to determine the graduation of a pupil from high school.
9. Requires participating school districts and schools to:
a) administer the American civics education assessment selected by the SBE as a high school graduation requirement; and
b) require at least one American civics course lasting at least one semester.
10. Exempts participating school districts and schools from administering the test that is identical to the civics portion of the naturalization test.
11. Establishes the Fund to administer the Program and appropriates $500,000 from the state GF in FY 2020, to the Fund for distribution as follows:
a) a portion of the monies to the assessment provider selected by the SBE; and
b) the remaining monies to each participating school district and school in a proportional amount.
12. Requires ADE to submit, by September 31, 2019, a progress report on the development and administration of the Program as delineated in the bill.
13. Requires ADE to submit, by September 1, 2020, and each year through the 2023-2024 school year, a report detailing pupil results on the American civics education assessment as delineated in the bill.
14. Specifies that monies in the Fund are subject to legislative appropriation and are exempt from lapsing.
15. Repeals this section on January 1, 2025.
16. Makes technical changes.
17. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by the Education Committee
· Increases the minimum duration of the American civics course from one-half to one semester.
Senate Action
ED 2/15/18 DPA 6-0-1
APPROP 2/20/19 DP 9-1-0
Prepared by Senate Research
February 21, 2018
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