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crazyhorse1946 78M
1406 posts
1/16/2015 12:22 pm
Law requiring students to pass civics test


Arizona became the first state in the nation on Thursday to enact a law requiring high school students to pass the U.S. citizenship test on civics before graduation, giving a boost to a growing nationwide effort to boost civics education.

Both the Arizona House and Senate quickly passed the legislation on just the fourth day of the legislative session, and newly elected Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed it into law Thursday evening.

The swift action in Arizona comes as states around the country take up similar measures. Arizona's law requires high school students to correctly answer 60 of 100 questions on the civics portion of the test new citizens must pass.

The test is being pushed nationally by the Arizona-based Joe Foss Institute, which has set a goal of having all 50 states adopt it by 2017, the 230th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution. The institute says legislatures in 15 states are expected to consider it this year.

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, an Arizona native, has supported the initiative. She's made civics education a prime focus in recent years.

Republican Arizona Senate Majority Leader Steve Yarbrough, sponsoring the bill in his chamber, said that "requiring that students pass this test is not by any means a silver bullet, but I think is a step, a small step forward."

Source Associated Press

GavinLS2 69M
1525 posts
1/17/2015 6:48 am

I'd suggest one VERY important caveat: Require teachers to keep ideology OUT of the course material and classroom, for both conservative and liberal sides!

Simply teach how our system works, the history both of it's beginning and how it has evolved. And how within the system citizens can work to bring about or prevent change if they desire, but NO emphasis on which views to take on those proposals.

GBU,

Gavin


Rentier1

1/20/2015 7:37 am

    Quoting  :

Each other, for the most part.

That's why I call it The First American Civil War