Proposal for enhanced civic education in Kentucky high schools sees final passage

UPDATED: Following Kentucky’s C-rating in a Civic Health Assessment study, lawmakers are looking at ways to ensure more civic education in schools across the Commonwealth.

Currently, before graduating, Kentucky students are required to pass a civics test with 100 questions from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. House Bill 535, sponsored by Rep. Robert Duvall, would provide an alternative to the test by letting school districts choose between the test and a credit in civic education for Kentucky high school students.

The legislation, which passed the House 77-13 with slight changes made in a committee substitute, would also change the test score required to pass the test from 60 percent to 70 percent.

The course topics would include – but not be limited to – an overview of American history; the role of the different levels of government; key texts, including the Kentucky and U.S. constitutions; rights and responsibilities of citizenship; political parties and interest groups; campaigns and elections; domestic and foreign policies; comparative systems; and international relations, among others.

Kentucky Chamber President and CEO Ashli Watts testified in favor of the bill during the committee meeting in the House, noting the business community’s increased involvement in civic education in recent years with the Kentucky Chamber Foundation hosting the National Civics Bee. The National Civics Bee is a competition that brings middle school students from across the state together, giving them the ability to showcase their civic knowledge through an essay competition and testing their civic knowledge at the live events.

“The Chamber has taken an interest in civics because, over the course of the last few decades, civics education has lessened. And, at the same time, we’ve seen a rise in extreme political discourse. And I don’t think this is a coincidence,” Watts said. “We believe civics education is an essential part of the solution, as it offers the ability to provide young people with the knowledge, skills, and disposition they need in order to be engaged citizens in a democracy.”

Former Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton also commended the Chamber for the Civics Bee competition when testifying in support of the bill and emphasized the increased need for civic education in a time where misinformation is being spread on a grand scale through social media and other avenues.

Minton noted 39 other states require civic education as a year-long or semester-long course and said the bill would be a step in the right direction for Kentucky.

House Bill 535 the Senate 32-1 and now heads to the Governor’s desk.

Stay tuned to The Bottom Line for more updates throughout the 2024 legislative session.