Committee introduces bill to revise high school civics training and testing

Representative Tom Wisniewski introduced RS32567 to the House Committee on Education, a bill that would revise civics training requirements in public high schools and change the content of related tests.

The measure, presented March 1 before the committee, would move away from basing required student testing on the naturalization test that new citizens take, and would replace several items the sponsor described as trivia with “more pertinent” material about government and civics. "This is a piece of legislation that has followed the trend ... where we take rules and put them into code," Wisniewski said when he introduced the draft. He told the committee that questions about facts such as geographic boundaries and superficial historical facts do not give students a useful sense of civics and government.

Committee members asked no substantive follow-up questions during the introductory hearing. Representative Ben Hawkins moved to introduce RS32567; the committee voted by voice to introduce the measure. Chairman Pickett stated, "RS 32567 is for the committee," after the voice vote carried.

The committee took no policy vote today on the bill's substance; the action recorded was introduction only, which makes RS32567 available for future hearings and possible amendment. The transcript indicates the bill as introduced will be considered further in subsequent committee work.

The introduction proceeds at a preliminary stage: the committee did not adopt final language or send the measure to the House floor at this hearing. No statutory citations beyond the RS number were offered in committee testimony.