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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, Second Regular Session
civics celebration day; civics education
Purpose
Establishes September 25 of each year as Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Celebration Day. Requires each public school to dedicate a majority of Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Celebration Day to civics education.
Background
Statute outlines 16 legal state holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day. Public offices and courts are closed on all legal holidays, except for certain authorized purposes. Statute also lists several other non-legal holidays, including Korean War Veterans' Day, Dr. Cesar Estrada Chavez Day and Prisoners of War Remembrance Day (A.R.S. Title 1, Chapter 3, Article 1).
The
State Board of Education (SBE) is composed of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, the president of a state university or college, four lay members,
a president or chancellor of a community college district, a person who is an
owner or administrator of a charter school, a superintendent of a high school district,
a classroom teacher and a county school superintendent. The Governor appoints
each member, other than the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to four-year
terms (A.R.S.
§ 15-201). The powers and duties of the SBE include:
1) exercising supervision and regulating the conduct of the public school
system; 2) adopting rules and policies necessary to accomplish its purpose; and
3) preparing, publishing and distributing reports concerning the educational
welfare of the state (A.R.S.
§ 15-203).
The SBE must prescribe a minimum course of study that incorporates adopted academic standards to be taught in common schools and prescribe competency requirements for the promotion of pupils from third and eighth grades and the graduation of pupils from high school. The competency requirements must incorporate academic standards in several areas, including social studies (A.R.S. §§ 15-701 and 15-701.01). All schools must provide instruction on the Arizona and U.S. Constitutions, American institutions and ideals and Arizona history, including the history of Native Americans in Arizona (A.R.S. § 15-710).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Establishes September 25 of each year as Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Celebration Day.
2. Specifies that the Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Celebration Day is not a legal holiday.
3. Requires each public school to dedicate a majority of the school day to civics education on Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Celebration Day.
4. Specifies that if the Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Celebration Day falls on a day when a public school is not in session, the holiday must be observed on the preceding or following school day.
5. Requires the SBE to develop a list of recommended resources relating to civics education that align with the academic standards prescribed by the SBE in social studies for the purpose of Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Celebration Day instruction.
6. Requires the SBE to establish a process that allows public schools to recommended resources for addition to the list of recommended resources.
7. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
ED 1/27/20 DP 11-0-0-2
3rd Read 2/12/20 57-3-0
Prepared by Senate Research
February 27, 2020
MH/CS/kja