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LB 399 requires Wakefield schools to form civics committee, expand civics instruction and record compliance
Summary
Under state law LB 399, the Wakefield Public Schools Board must annually appoint three members to a Committee on American Civics, document at least two meetings (one with public testimony), provide specific grade-level civics instruction time, and require students in grades 8–12 to complete one of three civics-completion options.
The Wakefield Public Schools Board must follow a set of requirements under Nebraska’s LB 399 that govern how the district teaches civics and documents compliance, a district checklist states.
Under LB 399 the board must appoint three members each calendar year to a Committee on American Civics. The committee is required to meet at least twice per year, hold at least one meeting that accepts public testimony, keep minutes showing time, place, attendance and the substance of matters discussed, and review the district’s social studies curriculum to ensure it aligns with NDE standards and the statute’s requirements.
The law sets student completion options for civics instruction for students in grades eight through 12. Students must complete one of the following: take a written test identical to the civics portion of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization test (administered once before the end of eighth grade and again before the end of twelfth grade, with individual scores provided to parents or guardians); attend a meeting of a public body between the start of eighth grade and completion of twelfth grade followed by a project or paper reflecting the student’s learning experience; or complete and present a project or paper on a person or event commemorated by a listed holiday.
LB 399 also requires specified instructional time: at least one hour per week on American history topics for grade levels below sixth grade; set-aside time for American history instruction for grades five through eight; and devoted time in at least two high school courses to civics and American history. The statute further directs schools to hold “appropriate patriotic exercises” on or near a list of holidays, including George Washington’s birthday, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Native American Heritage Day, Constitution Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day when school is in session.
The checklist supplied with the requirements asks districts to confirm several compliance items, including that minutes have been kept and document attendance and substance of discussion; that the district’s social studies curriculum is aligned with NDE standards and stresses required patriotic themes; that high school students are given the statutory options for civics completion; that the approved curriculum is available for public inspection; and that the district will conduct the listed patriotic exercises.
The document references LB 399 and NDE standards as authorities and cites the USCIS civics test as the specified written-test option. The checklist provides blanks for the district to record committee appointments, meeting dates and the date public testimony was accepted, which the district must maintain as evidence of compliance.
